I posted my first blog post on the Around the Grove blog on September 29^th, 2015 – and now today, May 2^nd, 2017, marks my last blog post on the Around the Grove blog.

I think back to my first ever semester at the Universities at Shady Grove. I remember seeing the email calling for students to become USG bloggers, and being excited about the prospect of writing meaningful posts and sharing them with a new community. I remember nervously walking into the conference room to meet with the interviewers for the blogging position, and coming out of the room wondering if I had made a good enough case for why I would be a worthy blogger. Luckily, I was given the chance, and it has been an incredible two academic years of blogging for the USG blog.

I think back to who I was as an individual my first semester at USG and contrast it with the person I am today. I have certainly grown (though not in height!), and a part of that includes my growth as a writer. As I scroll through my page on the blog, I find myself reliving all of the events from these past 2 years. While I certainly have captured memories through photos from my time here, I believe my writings serve as souvenirs as well.

From USG events such as Student Leadership Bistros, Open Houses, Scholarship and Donor Recognition Luncheons, Etiquette Dinners, Leadership Bashes, USGFest, Octoberfest, International Night, and more

to

personal events with my Smith community such as our Spring Break at Deep Creek, summer internships, study abroad programs, and more

to

simple posts with encouraging messages with the desire to make even the smallest impact on someone who happens to stumble across them.

It’s been an incredible honor to have been given the opportunity to publish posts for the USG blog. I encourage anyone else who is considering applying to take a leap of faith and do so! A quick story to conclude with: last semester, when I was interviewing for jobs, the partner I was interviewing with Googled my name prior to the interview and read some of the posts I had published on the blog. It initiated a great conversation that led to one of the best interviews I ever had. So in addition to everything else, sometimes you never know where something simple as writing can take you!

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.”
― Anaïs Nin