For a lot of us, this past school year was a crazy rollercoaster ride. It seems like every single day, the headlines made us go, “Wait? Are you kidding me?”
But, through this wild and sometimes unbelievable climate, we also realized the power that young women hold when they have the courage to act boldly. We asked fourteen college-aged women what their boldest moment was this school year, and their answers will make you laugh, make you think, and, most importantly, inspire you to act boldly as well.
1. Let herself experience forgiveness
“I messaged the girl my ex-boyfriend cheated on me with a few months after we broke up, and asked if we could meet to talk about things and clear the air. I felt like it would make me feel better and be able not to hate her if I just got a sincere apology from her, so we met and talked for an hour and she apologized and I told her how I felt about the situation. At the end, I told her I forgave her, which was super hard to do.”
—Alex, freshman at University of Cincinnati
2. Learned to treat herself
“The boldest thing I did in this last school year was stop letting my finances suffocate me. It sounds pretty simple, but I accepted that I’m a broke college student paying to essentially work full time while earning very little in a part-time ‘real job.’ I couldn’t see that this real job was paying me the perfect wage to live and enjoy spending money without being bound to it. I was so focused on having to save X amount of dollars each week that I actually stopped going out and enjoying the money I was working so hard to earn. I realized that being a student is a time to embrace the risk of buying those concert tickets before figuring out how to get there, going on that weekend road trip with the people you love and enjoying it! My finances don’t determine how I view or live life anymore. Money is something that comes and goes, so enjoy the risk! Whether that be busting out the big bucks to go across the country to a concert, going out for brunch, buying a ski jacket I don’t need (pictured above), or deciding to go for a walk—free of charge—with my friends, it’s all good! Feel free to spend, feel free to save!”
—Amy, sophomore at Victoria University of Wellington
3. DIY’d her own degree
“I helped develop a new degree plan. I proposed the idea of a child development degree with a clinical focus. I was the guinea pig for the rough draft of the degree and it was just approved for curriculum this week!”
—Kassie, sophomore at Siena Heights University
4. Refused to let school stress her out
“My boldest moment was probably not doing a final paper until the day after it was due, faking the whole paper, and getting an A+ on it.”
—Alli, sophomore at Washtenaw Community College
5. Bounced back from a crazy injury
“My boldest moment from this year was coming back from my freak accident stronger than ever in my mental health and doing the best I have in all of college, even though it was my first semester in the College of Engineering!”
—Sam, sophomore at the University of Michigan
6. Showed her professor who’s boss
“I picked a philosophical debate with my philosophy professor, which was both bold and one of the longest conversations I’ve ever had. My head was spinning afterwards but I still think I won.”
—Piper, freshman at Michigan State University
7. Discovered a new passion
“I joined the English Hunt Seat Equestrian Team at school. I had no real clue what I was doing while riding and every time I went to a lesson I was so nervous I felt like I was going to get sick. But now, looking back, I’ve improved so much. I feel extremely comfortable riding those horses and I have made so many friends from the team. I even got to compete at shows which was something I’ve always wanted to try. I also took an Equine Production class, which I was initially intimidated by because everyone said it was ridiculously hard. So, long story short, I’m adding an Animal Science major while continuing my Agribusiness and Applied Economics major, which will add another year of school, but I’ll be loving what I’m doing and I’m extremely excited for the classes I’ll be taking!”
—Hannah, junior at The Ohio State University
8. Came out to her church
“I came out to the Wesley community as a whole by doing the Q and Gay thing and being real with myself and other people about who I am, and that my faith and identity can go together.”
—Julia, freshman at Virginia Tech
9. Said ‘yes’ to adventure
“I missed a week of classes and drove 24 hours down to San Antonio to watch my boys play in the Final Four and Natty!”
—Harley, senior at the University of Michigan
10. Moved to a big city
“My boldest moment was probably moving to Chicago to start something new, get out of my comfort zone, and find new passions!”
—Tara, twenty-year-old working in Chicago
11. Staged managed a play
“This semester I stage managed a student production at my school. I had assisted stage managed before, but this was a much bigger role with more responsibility (numerous hours in rehearsal, production meetings, and being in charge of all scheduling). As someone who always acted in theatre, getting on the production side of things was eye-opening — but I was worried I’d miss performing. Luckily, the rest of the team and cast were incredibly helpful and appreciative of my efforts, and I’m so incredibly proud of the show I helped make happen.”
—Zoe, sophomore at Wesleyan University
12. Re-launched a Her Campus chapter
“My boldest moment was when we re-launched Her Campus at my university in Puerto Rico and I received tons of messages from people wanting to be part of it. That response from the students blow me away!”
—Mariely, Masters Student at Carlos Albizu University-San Juan Campus
13. Job shadowed a judge
“My boldest moment was job shadowing the judge for the courthouse. I felt empowered. He took me out to lunch with his coworkers and of course I was dressed the part, and when we went into the restaurant the customers were looking at us and I felt so important. In my mind I was like, hell yeah, I’m important.”
—Dajah, freshman at West Georgia Technical College
14. Stole a school flag
“During Freshman orientation, they gave a few of these flags away as bingo prizes. They told us that this was the only way to get them, beyond stealing one, and when my team lost I started to plot. During senior week, at like 3 am, I struck — I had chosen one of the two on either side of the front steps to the arts building. Since it was nice weather, there was a picnic table out front, right under the right flag, but I slowly pushed it closer and closer to the flag on the left. Each time a car drove by I’d sit down real quick – since the whole senior class was out screwing around for senior week, my being there wouldn’t be suspicious to public safety, but my standing on the table definitely would be. I finally got it in place and got up to break the bottom two ties, but there was no way I’d be able to get to the top part. I called my very tall friend, and I could tell that I’d woken him up and was very surprised he’d been sleeping already. I asked him where he was (sleeping in his car???) and I told him I needed help. He was immediately interested when I told him I was trying to steal something and I was too short to get it. He appeared moments later, slithered onto the table and cut the top two ties, and the flag was mine *insert evil laugh here*.”
—Samantha, recent graduate
Happy end-of-semester, collegiettes. Keep being bold AF!