carolina.

As I write this, in five hours, I’ll be done with my last day of classes. Ever. After 17 years of education, it’ll all be over with today. I would’ve never imagined today to be like this - when I stepped foot in my first class in Carroll Hall three years ago, I thought my journey to senior year was so far ahead of me. And in the blink of an eye, here we are. Instead of celebrating in the Reese News Lab in Carroll Hall today with all my fellow classmates, we’ll be celebrating virtually through a Zoom meeting. No, this isn’t what I expected. Not what anyone expected. But either way, I can’t help but be grateful for everything Carolina has given me in the short three years I’ve been lucky enough to spend here. 

Three years ago, I was sitting in front of my computer, nervous as ever to press the “confirm” button for my transfer to UNC. With any type of change, I was questioning whether I made the right decision or not. In one of my journal entries from April 19, 2017, I wrote “It’s been a really stressful 2 months, applying to transfer colleges, then WAITING. The worst part was waiting for months and months. But the wait was all worth it. I’m so excited to go to UNC next fall, and I can’t wait for everything to come in the next 3 years. At first, I was really stressed. But now I’m realizing that stress about transferring is such a small part of my life, and I’ll be fine when I get there. I was accepted into UNC for a reason, and I know it’ll be a great experience. Plus, I get to do what I love to do in the Journalism school, and I can’t wait to get started.” 

2017 me didn’t know what was coming. I found the greatest group of friends, got to take classes in a subject area that I was really actually passionate about, got selected to go on an international documentary project to cover the Venezuelan Migrant Crisis in Colombia last spring, rushed Franklin Street, and had the absolute time of my life. Although the end of senior year got abruptly cut off, Carolina still gave me everything I was hoping for. It helped me find a career path I could be excited for, gave me lifelong friends and memories, helped me grow as an individual, and most importantly, taught me that sometimes, you just need to take the leap. Even if you’re uncertain about it, or don’t want to try something new because you want to hold onto something you’re comfortable with, take the leap. We’re all guilty of holding onto things, places, people that may not be the best for us, but we keep because we’re comfortable with the routine of it. But sometimes, the best things we can do for ourselves is to try something new. Do something different, and learn along the way. 

I wrote in my first blog post three months ago that I’m a strong believer that “everything happens for a reason.” Ever since college, this philosophy has held itself true through every success and failure. I don’t believe that everything happens for a reason in the way that everything will be perfect, but that there’s something to learn from all our life experiences. 

Still, through this pandemic, through classes and graduation getting cancelled, and through the uncertainty of what the future holds, I think there’s something to learn from all of this. Throughout the past four years, everything has been so fast-paced, and I’ve found myself having to go-go-go all the time. There was no time to sit down and make breakfast everyday, some days I didn’t even have time to make myself a cup of coffee. I never had time to read a book for fun, take a long walk outdoors, or find a new hobby. I was so focused on everything I had to do for classes, for my job, and for my future internships, that I didn’t really have time to focus on myself. But I’m thankful I have the time now to do all of this, and to still be able to have access to my classes digitally in order to finish up my degree. Even if it’s not as I’d hoped I would be finishing senior year, there will be an eventual time when we can all get together and celebrate all our accomplishments. And as Gary Kayye says, “This is just a blip in our lives.” We’re still going to graduate, still going to eventually get jobs, and we’re eventually going to go back to normal. We should still celebrate the fact that we all have this great accomplishment in graduating from Carolina in the first place.

So, in summary, I’ve learned a lot in the past four years - every unexpected, frustrating, challenging or disappointing experience is worth it. Even if it’s not exactly what you were hoping for, you’re going to learn something from it. I sure have.

Read the rest of my blog posts here!