It’s absolutely wild to imagine it’s already been 4 years at Sacred Heart University. Looking back, it feels like with each passing year, time moved faster and faster.
It feels like just yesterday I moved into Merton, slowly making friends through playing Spikeball and small talk at 63’s. At the time it felt super nerve racking being a freshman from New Hampshire given most of the other students were from New York and New Jersey. I felt like there was a big social barrier.
Over time I felt these initial nerves fade away as I established my core friend group, not feeling the need to essentially interview every new person I came across. As a mostly introverted person this felt like a nice weight lifted off my shoulders.
Around this time, my world got flipped upside down as I slowly realized exercise science might not be for me. This was very scary at first as for the last two years, I had my heart set on this path, giving so much time to learn the industry through internships and classes. I felt like a failure almost.
It was at this point I felt completely overwhelmed and lost, even considering transferring or dropping out. If it weren’t for my best friend I probably would have. After a few emotional talks with my parents and my best friend, I decided I would stick it out and try to find a new direction.
Shortly after dropping my major I decided to revisit an older passion of mine, writing. It didn’t take long for me to realize that this was my new calling and I felt an urge to learn where this could take me, and I decided to become a communications major a few days later.
After finishing my first semester of classes in communications, I knew I was in the right place. Through communications, and especially through writing for The Spectrum, I found a version of myself I hadn’t met before. I gained confidence in my voice, learned how much I loved telling people’s stories, and realized changing directions wasn’t failure, it was growth.
In writing for The Spectrum, I found more than just a resume booster, I found my greatest mentors, gained rudimentary skills in writing and storytelling and a sense of purpose that was missing when I first arrived on campus. My greatest memories from college won’t just be the big milestones, but more so the smaller moments in between. I will truly miss the late-night conversations with my roommates and spontaneous adventures with friends.
Looking back, what once felt like the biggest setback of my college experience ended up becoming the thing that shaped me the most. Now I realise that when you look back at the things that used to scare you the most, they always ended up working out for the better.
As I near graduation, it’s definitely a bittersweet feeling to leave a place that has provided me with so many experiences and lifelong memories. SHU gave me more than a degree, it gave me confidence, a sense of purpose and people I’ll carry with me long after our caps are thrown sky high in just over a week’s time.
