Adjusting Focus

I planned to upload a very different blog post today, but at the last minute, decided I had to write about the recent events on police brutality. As one of my goals for this blog is to create a supportive, welcoming community for all, I want to express to you the heaviness many of you are feeling- but from my perspective as a person of color*. My news feed has been filled with white people posting about police brutality and being "white allies," and while I appreciate the support, I was reminded of a poem I wrote a few months ago on the frustration I often carry in situations like this. i don't need a white person trying to fight for me i don't need your white savior complex to rescue me or your guilt from the way you've treated my people to finally move you to take action   where were you when i sat on the bus and a girl told her friends to not sit next to me because i am brown? where were you when i was followed in a store because a worker thought i looked suspi...

Technically, this should be "The End: Part 5" because I've completed five semesters now, but whatever. SO, I've officially finished school and I'm simultaneously excited and uncomfortable about that. I was looking back on a blog post I wrote after my first semester finished. It's super weird to think how fast time has gone. It kind of freaks me out that I'm graduating soon (9 days from now) and that I really couldn't quite imagine this day coming when I first started. In the beginning it all seemed like it would be super hard, but it hasn't been that bad. I love the major I chose and because of it I've had some really cool opportunities. In the beginning of this whole program I started out as a lot different. Over these past two years I've found more confidence in myself. I've generally figured out what I want to do with my life. I've found actual value in education. I've learned some more about procrastination (but let's...

I've successfully completed my first (half) week of the Fall semester. I think the majority of my classes will end up going pretty well. I'll be honest, I'm kind of only looking forward to about 3 of the 5, but that's okay. There's only one class I haven't had yet, which would be my Life Sciences class, but that's a Monday night one, so I still have another week until I have to mentally prepare for that mess. I'm excited for it, but I've heard it's supposed to be kind of rough. It's kind of like and introduction to Anatomy & Physiology, which I hope to take next semester. Oh those prerequisites for BYU-I I need.  I had US History II as my first class. It so happens to be from 4:30 until 7:00, so I have almost the entire day to relax... or do homework (joke's on me). My professor's method of getting people to participate is the good ol' elementary way of using popsicle sticks with everyone's names on each stick. As a young...

I had the opportunity to go to a leadership camp for two days at my new school, Mount Wachusett Community College. I wasn't really looking forward to waking up at 6 in the morning and being there for longer than a school day. In fact, when the mornings came, I honestly considered falling back asleep and acting as if I had forgotten. I knew I had to go, not only because the camp was mandatory, but because I knew that somewhere along the way I would learn something. All I had to do was be open to what people had to say to me. In the end, I learned a few things and gained some knowledge. I noticed a few things and realized that I hadn't wasted 100% of my time. Tuesday was the first day. I really questioned that day afterwards as I reflected on some weird meditation I had to do for like, 10 minutes. "You're in a dark room. You can't see anything. Suddenly, your foot hits something. It's stairs. You climb up the stairs. With each step you think of something that...

My two weeks were super fun. I hung out with my cousin almost everyday and I finally have a room. My walls are all painted! One wall is red and the others are beige (although it turned out a little more grey... I call it greige). I got to spend some time with my parents, which was great. My favorite dog ever, Bella, got to sleep near me on her bed every night too. She's literally my favorite dog out of all the other ones I have ever owned (sorry).  I'm sad it's all over but at least I'm back at my real home with real floors and ceilings. The NH house does look great and my parents worked incredibly hard everyday to get it to where it is currently. I'm grateful for them and their hard work. It has come so  far. So, as you've seen, I've taken a lot of pictures with my cousin within the last two weeks. It seemed like almost everywhere we went we were asking our moms to take pictures of us. One of our last pictures together for a while came from our adventure...