Four years ago I walked into the visitor center at University of Kentucky.
Change was looming and ambiguity of life was weighing on my shoulders as I was denied admission into my dream school and deferred from a school I applied to at the last minute.
A week later, I would get an email about financial aid for the school that deferred me. A few days after my acceptance letter finally came after the initial email, I jumped on over and accepted my admission.
Mom and Dad, I was going to UK with a major in journalism, which changed a few months later to Integrated Strategic Communication.
A high school graduation and a few months later, I was dancing around my room late at night before the first day in this new chapter procrastinating like h*ll.
Change was very much present and a new sense of ambiguity was setting in. Would I make friends? Is this campus really a good fit for me?
I remember that first year in blurs of memories all starting with that first step into the visitors center. That girl that had no idea who she was or what she was doing had no idea what life is going to have in store.
She feels like a whole different girl. I still have no idea what I am doing half the time but I do have a better sense of who I am.
Almost four years and a lot more ambition later, I finally had the chance to take a step back and see how far I have gotten in this tiny little chapter of my story.
All the people I have met along the way who have impacted my life in such a big way.
Nothing really had hit me until the day I walked in and grabbed my cap and gown. This new sense of ambiguity weighing on me as I kept answering, “I do not know,” to the question nobody is curious about but asks any way.
I am at the end of this chapter and it is still a bit surreal.
So to the girl who would not stop dreaming and worrying — you did it!
You finished another chapter — a chapter full of unexpectedness and growth.
A chapter with twists no one saw coming.
You survived all the storms and sunshine. You made Lexington a home. You fell on your face too many times to count, but got back up stronger than before.
Change is looming again with another set of ambiguity these next few weeks.
Everything is different, yet there are things that feel the exact same. Life is a bit weird and change is ever present.