By Abagail Chartier
My time at Stonehill reminds me a lot of my quantum physics class. It’s a wavefunction that’s not sure which way it’s going to collapse until the moment I talk about it. I’m trapped in a superposition of “it went by too fast” and “this has been the longest four years of my life” until someone asks me. Then, words tumble out of my mouth, the wavefunction collapsing to a single eigenstate. The answer changes from moment to moment, person to person. The probability of it has been 50/50 for a while, but I’m thinking there’s a third, time-independent option that hasn’t been considered in the calculation.
“It was a journey."
If freshman year was a round of Mario Kart, I would be starting in 12th place. I was friendless, terrified of my future, uncertain of every action I made, constantly sick, alone, and had some wildly difficult mental health problems that needed to be addressed. I considered withdrawing my freshman year at one point… but I’m glad I didn’t.
I had help, and lots of it. They say it takes a village to raise a child, but they don’t tell you it takes a strong support system to lead a young adult through college.
To my parents, brothers, boyfriend, and extended family: Thank you for always being a home to return to, and reminding me that I can do whatever I set my mind to. The stars truly are reachable. I love you endlessly.
To Julia, Olympia, Jamie, Georgiana, and all my other Stonehill friends: Thank you for always being there to support me when I start to fall, for making me laugh until I cry, and pushing me out of my comfort zone.
To Professors Alessandro Massarotti, Maureen Boyle, David Simon, Kevin McGinnis, Amra Brooks, and so many others: Thank you for helping me not only find the right path, but teaching me how to make my own. For long pep talks during office hours - actual and impromptu - and all your infinite wisdom.
Even though I’ve struggled every day since I first set foot on campus back on August 26, 2017, I’ve also grown each day. I tried new things, joined new clubs, built a major, found so many friends, and am looking forward to graduate school. I took back control of my mental health - boundaries, setting aside time for myself, and a lot of therapy. I’m not perfect, but I have more confidence than I’ve ever had in what I’m doing and where I’m going. I’m in the last 10 days of my senior year and I feel like I’m in the last lap of the game in 2nd with few red shells in my inventory (thank you, immune system, for never getting any better).
I am who I am today because of my time here, and I wouldn’t have it any way. I love you to the moon and back, Stonehill.
Commentaires