I genuinely cannot believe that this is my fourth year in college. It feels like just yesterday that I was moving into my freshman year dorm (which was Gardner House, one of the Victorian houses on the Lasell campus) and crying as I hugged my parents and said goodbye. So many new things started as I began my journey at Lasell, and now, four years later, there are even more things to look back on.
Freshman Year
My freshman year was full of making new friends (which was extremely difficult for someone who hated stepping out of their comfort zone and had large amounts of anxiety), joining clubs (like Her Campus!), and adjusting to the pace and workload of college classes. It was during this year that I met some of my best friends (whom I’m still friends with today), met some people I’m no longer friends with, dated my first girlfriend in my first real relationship, got my first tattoo, and started to truly fall in love with the idea of teaching one day. It was definitely a bumpy road, and the covid-19 pandemic sending us home for “an extended Spring Break” on March 13th, 2020 certainly didn’t help, but I made it through.
Sophomore Year
This was a rough one. Fall semester of this year was completely virtual, meaning all of my classes were online-only, masks had to be worn everywhere except in your own dorm room, and you couldn’t enter anyone else’s dorm buildings. Hanging out with people? Totally did not happen. Covid testing? Happened twice a week. The dining hall? You had to walk through with a to-go container because sitting and eating (without a mask!) was a serious no-no in 2020. But, as the Spring semester started, we were able to leave our dorms again, attend in-person classes as long as we wore masks, and it was during this time that I dyed my hair blue for the first time.
Junior Year
This was the year of coming into my own. My hair went from blue to green to teal to purple and back to blue during this year. I got even closer with my best friends, lost some not-so-great friends along the way, and made my mark at Lasell by being on the E-board for four clubs and holding two on-campus jobs. I dove right into student teaching in a first-grade classroom at the Haley Pilot School in Roslindale, MA and fell in love with the kiddos I was working with. I started going to the Counseling Center on campus (which has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made), got another tattoo, and passed all of the required MTELs I would need in order to get my teaching license.
Now… Senior Year
As I look back on my time at Lasell, I know that I’ve come a long way from the shy, insecure girl I was when I first started college. During these past four years, I’ve come into my own and really started working on bettering myself. It definitely has not all been easy, but I wouldn’t trade my experiences for anything as they’ve taught me so much about myself, life, and the career I want to go into. At this point, just a few weeks into the semester, I’ve already started student teaching in a third grade classroom at Ward Elementary in Newton, MA, I’ve gotten another super meaningful tattoo, dyed my hair hot pink, and started setting healthy boundaries for myself regarding my time commitments. Here’s to what will (hopefully!) be a great senior year.