Growing, Changing, Adapting
Hello!
I am now a freshman at The University of Texas at Austin, and settling into my new environment well.
Over these past five years since I began writing this blog, my life has changed dramatically. No longer a pimple-faced 13-year-old girl, I have grown into a young woman taking on new endeavors.
I have moved from Massachusetts to Texas! I now live in Austin, and I love this city. There is so much to do all of the time, and new things popping up constantly. I have been able to explore the city, and meet so many new friends who make this adventure fantastic.
I am studying Government and Plan II Honors. I am planning on also declaring a minor in Arabic. I would like to learn this language for my work in the Air Force and future work, wherever that may take me. I love my classes, my professors are all incredibly educated individuals and my peers are incredibly intellectual. In such a big school, I have found my crowd, and I could not be more grateful for that.
I have joined the Air Force ROTC at my college. I love my wingmen and the opportunity to develop incredible leadership skills. I struggle with the physical fitness component, but I have been working hard every single day to increase my scores. With my own grit and determination, I will have the opportunity to be selected for a POC position, where I will commission into the Air Force as a Second Lieutenant. If I want it, I will get there on my own merit.
I am working for The Daily Texan! It is the oldest student newspaper on campus. I work in the video department, creating short films and clips to promote local journalism. It is a really cool group, and a great way to get experience in local journalism. I am definitely busy, but whatever time I have, I try to help my fellow videomakers on their projects.
It is evident that with all of these new endeavors, I am definitely learning new ways to enagage in my community and interact with others. Feeling nostalgic, I was reading through some of my old work on this blog, and realize how much I have grown in the last few years. I am still young, so I am no where near done. But already, I notice subtle changes in my opinions and mannerisms which prove that my endeavors are polishing my personality and self-identity.
For one thing, in a junior year essay, I describe living in Massachusetts as "torture." To me at that time, I was so excited to move out of state for college and see new parts of the world, and somehow I attributed my state to limiting me from doing that. Now that I do live out of state, I realize how incredibly priviledged I am to have grown up in such a lovely area, with boundless resources avaliable at my discretion. Posting these negative opinions while younger shows how uneducated we are about the world in our youth. I am sure I will look back at my writing now in a few years and laugh at what I see here. But, I understand that we, as humans, grow as we age. I believe it is incredibly important to understand this aspect of our lives, so we may not cement ourselves to specific opinions and ideas, but develop over time to become as educated as possible.
I graduated from my high school with nothing but gratitude for my teachers, friends, peers, and everyone else who taught me. I learned from my coaches, teammates, teachers, administrators, janitors, and more who would take me forever to name. I made mistakes and was corrected, and even when it was uncomfortable, I learned to understand that my actions affect others more than I know, and I will not grow without being corrected. I tried to put 110% effort into everything I did, and even when I failed, I tried to keep going. I worked for my younger self, who romanticized the idea of being in clubs and playing sports, and for my older self, who now can take away specific lessons and not repeat mistakes. I couldn't be more grateful to my highschool for giving me this perspective, and as I take on new challenges, I will remember those who were there at the foundations of my leadership teachings.
Five years ago, I wrote a blog post in my eighth grade classroom, more than excited to begin a legitimate writing portfolio. Five years later, I sit in a college lecture hall, reflecting on how I have grown to where I am now. I am learning to participate in all sides of the story, to learn perspectives instead of boasting my own.
To everyone who has helped me get to where I am, thank you. To everyone who will guide me in my future, I am so, so excited to meet you.
I am now a freshman at The University of Texas at Austin, and settling into my new environment well.
Over these past five years since I began writing this blog, my life has changed dramatically. No longer a pimple-faced 13-year-old girl, I have grown into a young woman taking on new endeavors.
I have moved from Massachusetts to Texas! I now live in Austin, and I love this city. There is so much to do all of the time, and new things popping up constantly. I have been able to explore the city, and meet so many new friends who make this adventure fantastic.
I am studying Government and Plan II Honors. I am planning on also declaring a minor in Arabic. I would like to learn this language for my work in the Air Force and future work, wherever that may take me. I love my classes, my professors are all incredibly educated individuals and my peers are incredibly intellectual. In such a big school, I have found my crowd, and I could not be more grateful for that.
I have joined the Air Force ROTC at my college. I love my wingmen and the opportunity to develop incredible leadership skills. I struggle with the physical fitness component, but I have been working hard every single day to increase my scores. With my own grit and determination, I will have the opportunity to be selected for a POC position, where I will commission into the Air Force as a Second Lieutenant. If I want it, I will get there on my own merit.
I am working for The Daily Texan! It is the oldest student newspaper on campus. I work in the video department, creating short films and clips to promote local journalism. It is a really cool group, and a great way to get experience in local journalism. I am definitely busy, but whatever time I have, I try to help my fellow videomakers on their projects.
It is evident that with all of these new endeavors, I am definitely learning new ways to enagage in my community and interact with others. Feeling nostalgic, I was reading through some of my old work on this blog, and realize how much I have grown in the last few years. I am still young, so I am no where near done. But already, I notice subtle changes in my opinions and mannerisms which prove that my endeavors are polishing my personality and self-identity.
For one thing, in a junior year essay, I describe living in Massachusetts as "torture." To me at that time, I was so excited to move out of state for college and see new parts of the world, and somehow I attributed my state to limiting me from doing that. Now that I do live out of state, I realize how incredibly priviledged I am to have grown up in such a lovely area, with boundless resources avaliable at my discretion. Posting these negative opinions while younger shows how uneducated we are about the world in our youth. I am sure I will look back at my writing now in a few years and laugh at what I see here. But, I understand that we, as humans, grow as we age. I believe it is incredibly important to understand this aspect of our lives, so we may not cement ourselves to specific opinions and ideas, but develop over time to become as educated as possible.
I graduated from my high school with nothing but gratitude for my teachers, friends, peers, and everyone else who taught me. I learned from my coaches, teammates, teachers, administrators, janitors, and more who would take me forever to name. I made mistakes and was corrected, and even when it was uncomfortable, I learned to understand that my actions affect others more than I know, and I will not grow without being corrected. I tried to put 110% effort into everything I did, and even when I failed, I tried to keep going. I worked for my younger self, who romanticized the idea of being in clubs and playing sports, and for my older self, who now can take away specific lessons and not repeat mistakes. I couldn't be more grateful to my highschool for giving me this perspective, and as I take on new challenges, I will remember those who were there at the foundations of my leadership teachings.
Five years ago, I wrote a blog post in my eighth grade classroom, more than excited to begin a legitimate writing portfolio. Five years later, I sit in a college lecture hall, reflecting on how I have grown to where I am now. I am learning to participate in all sides of the story, to learn perspectives instead of boasting my own.
To everyone who has helped me get to where I am, thank you. To everyone who will guide me in my future, I am so, so excited to meet you.
0 comments