This is my last article of my sophomore year of college. In some ways, I feel like the year has flashed by in the blink of an eye. But in others, it's hard to imagine myself in a time other than the 2016-2017 school year. A lot has happened and I've written about a lot of different topics. As I pack up my room, little memories from this year come floating into my mind like ashes from a fire. Bits and pieces of my life built on these last two semesters, woven together into who I am today, are more vibrant in my mind than ever. So I'm going to write about them, using a few of my 36 articles as reference points.
My first article back at school was about returning to campus after studying abroad. I spent the spring of 2016 in London, and last semester was quite the adjustment for me.
A few weeks later, I wrote about how proud I am to be an art major. I remember that night quite vividly; I was sitting in my new loft space in the art building, sweating from the September heat, and I was overcome by a sudden need to write about art, and how excited I was to be an art student.
And then, before I knew it, we were into election season and every post on social media seemed to be about either Trump or Clinton. I shared an article over my disappointment about the election, although I was still excited to vote. This year was the first year I was legally allowed to vote.
November 6th, 2016 found me in the hospital with painful cysts and a new realization of how blessing can come through pain. That was certainly an unexpected part of my year. Earlier I was cleaning out my desk drawer and found my ER bracelet from that night, and I was overcome with thankfulness for my current health.
A few weeks before Christmas last year I wrote one of my favorite articles to date. I remember struggling to write something that week, and I just kind of typed out whatever came into my head. I ended up with a jumble of words reminding us that people are so much more than what we see on the surface.
In January I wrote about my boyfriend. I tend to stay away from writing super personal things in Odyssey articles, but I loved writing that article. I got a lot of positive feedback from that week, and I'm glad I shared that part of my life here. (Shoutout to Andrew--thanks for letting me share about you, and for making my life so wonderful!).
Fast forwarding a little bit, in March, London suffered from a terrorist attack. Having spent 3 precious months of my life in that city, it hit me hard. That was a sad and emotional article for me to write.
Finally, in April, I had a lot on my mind. I was going through some tough situations on campus, and struggling to express my thoughts on them. As I usually do, I sorted out what I wanted to say in a pretty emotionally-charged article.
It was a good year. There were laughs, tears, and good memories. I've learned and grown a lot through this year, and I'm especially happy that I got to record a lot of my thoughts by writing for Odyssey. Thanks for the likes, shares, and views on these articles, and stay tuned for more content each week from yours truly.
Peace out, sophomore year!
