For some more nostalgia, here’s a picture of the trees by Pem West from my very first week on campus in 2018…

I am now beginning my final semester of college, which is such a bizarre and surreal thing to be able to say. So much has happened in my time at Bryn Mawr so far. Obviously, I never could have predicted the pandemic when I entered Bryn Mawr in the fall of 2018, but I also couldn’t have anticipated what exact personal challenges and accomplishments I have had. It’s been a crazy, tiring, rewarding, disappointing, and wonderful three and a half years. So I am of course reflecting on all that has happened, especially as I watch my underclass friends go through the milestones I encountered not so long ago. Probably the most interesting of these has been watching the sophomores declare their majors.

I came to college with a pretty solid idea of the major I wanted to pursue, yet have sometimes still felt a little weird at Bryn Mawr because I did not start looking at any colleges like it until my junior year of high school. Sometimes I feel like many of my peers have always been brilliant and have had things figured out for a long time. For my freshman and sophomore years of high school I had no clue what I wanted to do with myself. I was heavily involved in music but did not seriously want to pursue it. I thought about it because it was the only readily available option, but did not really want it. During my junior year I took AP Government to fulfill the third social studies course of my high school’s graduation requirements. I mostly took Advanced Placement rather than honors because so many other students did. I figured I might as well take the same as everyone else. It did not take long for me to become obsessed with it. It was so much fun. I adored my teacher, looked forward to the readings and assignments, and it was the class I missed most when I got mono and could not come to school for four weeks. My junior year was also the year of the 2016 election, so a government class was even more interesting with so much to discuss. When I had mono in January and February of 2017 and could not do anything for a month, I found myself watching the many confirmation hearings and Congressional debates on C-SPAN. I knew what I wanted. I wanted to run for office or work all throughout Washington, DC or jump around campaigns or something. Although I now understand the many different opportunities to work in government and politics and my goals have changed, my love and interest in government remains the same.

It snowed on campus this week! but I somehow did not get any pictures, so enjoy this one from last year’s storm.

By the time I was beginning my first year at Bryn Mawr, I knew I would be a political science major. I also knew I would look for internships with various political offices and social justice and advocacy nonprofits. I am certainly grateful that I started my college years with a relatively solid plan for my major and career interests. In relation to many people I know, I had a more stable decision making process around declaring my major. Many students come to Bryn Mawr with an idea for a major and wind up finding something else they love. It’s the beauty of the liberal arts. Bryn Mawr’s structure requires us to branch out and take things we might not have otherwise, but I know many people who are grateful for that because it introduces them to what they truly want to study.

I do love the snow on campus right now, but it also makes me miss warmer days and cherry blossoms.

Deciding on my minor was more complicated, and they are not even necessary. My minor, as the liberal arts intend, found me more than I found it. Toward the end of my first year, I thought I would double major in economics and political science. During my sophomore year, I planned to minor in economics instead, and by the end of that academic year, I figured out I wanted nothing to do with the subject. Having already taken one philosophy course and searching for a class to fulfill my final college-wide requirement, I became interested in minoring in philosophy following the advice of one of my upperclass teammates. We discussed how useful philosophy would be to improve my reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. It’s also an excellent supplement to political science. After taking a couple more philosophy classes, I have grown to love the art of theory and questioning and critiquing ideas that I encounter. Although I am not really interested in the typical philosophical fields, I know that a philosophy minor will be greatly beneficial in my future. Whether I want to enter public policy, communications, work on campaigns, run for office, or go to graduate school, philosophy will be a great supplement to my knowledge of and skills in politics.

I seem to have found a great time to be in college studying government and politics. Twenty years ago politics and those who paid a lot of attention to it were still seen as over the top. Only the elite involved themselves, and our government showed that. Now, the masses have been engaging themselves and my generation is fighting hard for the social justice issues we care about. I think we can change the trajectory of politics and relations in the U.S. — maybe we won’t see the most clear results for decades, but I think we have the power to change the tide. The hatred, inequality, and inequity in America is deep rooted and institutional. Personally, I think we need intense, radical change to the foundation of our government and country – and soon. Institutionalized problems need institutionalized as well as outside change, and while that may not be wholly possible soon, I believe we have momentum to get us somewhere closer. It is because of this that I am even more thrilled to be a political science major. I found my love for politics during a turbulent year that accentuated the centuries old problems in our country. Now, I am studying how those policies are shaping us as well as what is being done to combat them during a nerve wracking and scary time in the world. This semester I am even interning on a U.S. Senate campaign and learning how all my studying in political science applies in the real world (more on this very soon!). In just a few months, I will be leaving Bryn Mawr and entering a world in desperate need and desire for change. I know I will do everything I can to contribute to that change and use my privilege to help those around me. And that makes me more excited than I know how to express.