"Traveler, your footprints are the only road, nothing else.
Traveler, there is no road; you make your own path as you walk." Antonio Machado
This has been a year of wild extremes. Clarity and uncertainty; joy and grief; unity and division; hope and fear. As graduation approaches, it seems like the world is more upside-down than I've ever seen it, reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic, the looming recession, and the wave of police brutality that has swept the nation and exposed the systemic racism in our country once again. The phrase "in these difficult times" has been used to the point of becoming a cliché, but all I know is that I am more prepared to face these challenges than I ever have been. Throughout my senior year, my main feeling has been one of strength. I have done so many things that I never thought I was capable of over the past four years, and I am so proud of how much I have grown. The question of identity has been the undercurrent of my college experience, and while it may not have as definitive of an answer as I had hoped for in my freshman year, I know that my experiences speak for themselves. Time and time again, I've thrown myself into unfamiliar situations even though I was nervous or scared, and I've attempted to do things that seemed impossible at the time only to find that I have what it takes after all. I am not afraid of the unknown anymore. In the words of Georgia O'Keeffe, “I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life, and I’ve never let it stop me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.”
I don't know exactly what the future holds, but I'm not in any rush. For now, I plan on continuing to learn, listen, and find out how I can use my education and the opportunities that I've been given to fight for what I believe in and contribute to a better future.
Traveler, there is no road; you make your own path as you walk." Antonio Machado
This has been a year of wild extremes. Clarity and uncertainty; joy and grief; unity and division; hope and fear. As graduation approaches, it seems like the world is more upside-down than I've ever seen it, reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic, the looming recession, and the wave of police brutality that has swept the nation and exposed the systemic racism in our country once again. The phrase "in these difficult times" has been used to the point of becoming a cliché, but all I know is that I am more prepared to face these challenges than I ever have been. Throughout my senior year, my main feeling has been one of strength. I have done so many things that I never thought I was capable of over the past four years, and I am so proud of how much I have grown. The question of identity has been the undercurrent of my college experience, and while it may not have as definitive of an answer as I had hoped for in my freshman year, I know that my experiences speak for themselves. Time and time again, I've thrown myself into unfamiliar situations even though I was nervous or scared, and I've attempted to do things that seemed impossible at the time only to find that I have what it takes after all. I am not afraid of the unknown anymore. In the words of Georgia O'Keeffe, “I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life, and I’ve never let it stop me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.”
I don't know exactly what the future holds, but I'm not in any rush. For now, I plan on continuing to learn, listen, and find out how I can use my education and the opportunities that I've been given to fight for what I believe in and contribute to a better future.
Use the buttons below to learn more about my experiences in the classroom and beyond.