Hi everyone,

With only one class left to Zoom through, I am on hours away from completing my first year of graduate school!

I’m honestly kind of at lost of words. I did not think it would end like this (at all) but I’m still very excited to almost be done with the semester. It has been long, demanding, and I wouldn’t change it for anything else. While there were definitely times I did not think I would get assignments done or turned in on time, I somehow managed to pull through and submit things on a timely manner. I am grateful for this school year, honestly. It has taught me about my ability to hang in there during a global pandemic! I genuinely thought I would have succumbed to the pressures of online learning, but I preserved and thrived. I never believed I could do that. I am definitely someone who needs the physical space and environment of a university setting to keep up with deadlines and assignments. I also am someone who is able to leave the personal behind when I am in class on my university’s campus. It’s almost like I become a whole other person once I’m at school. With this shelter in place order, I had to reconfigure that ability. I had to somehow be a student at home and that was at times much more difficult than I expected it to. However tedious it was though, I did it!  I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a student at Stan State, I don’t know if I would have managed so well elsewhere.

I can’t believe I am already celebrating ~almost~ being done with my first year of undergrad!! I can still remember celebrating the “last stretch” during my first year of undergrad. In the moment, that final stretch was intimidating, but today I can’t help but miss all the moments that made up that one larger moment. As a first generation student, the entire college experience has been new to me each and every term. Incoming students are always told about how good it is to go to college, but no one really tells you about the excitement of almost being DONE with your first year, arguably one of the most difficult ones too due to everything being so new to you. There I was, 19 years old, and ready to take my last final in one of the larger classrooms. I still remember the feeling of everyone walking towards class, a room that sat over 100 students. Although we did not stop to speak to one another, I felt like we were all in that together. It was a beautiful moment!

Today I am celebrating the last stretch and even though it’s a whole different setting, it is still just as meaningful. Every small win is part of the larger victory, and I am ready.