I don’t have a photo, meme, or gif for this assignment because I rather would like to use my words to articulate the feelings that I have conjured throughout this semester.

Going into college is an enormous step in life. This sounds cliche but this phrase explains the reality of it all. It is no ordinary step. I think that’s where people get confused. It isn’t just a step up a staircase. It’s a stepping stone; it’s a step that gets your foot in the door. What I think of when I think of Baruch is a bunch of business-oriented, money-driven, ethically and morally sound, and hardworking students from all over the Big Apple.

Baruch is what I expected. I am around a body of intelligently influential students and faculty. I feel fortunate to be here and have spent an entire semester here already feeling like I’m on top of things.

I have had invaluable time spent here and invested it into tools for success. The academics that I have been taught were extremely helpful for future applications and I feel that even over the brief course of 3 1/2 months I have actually grown as a person.

I am clinically diagnosed with anxiety disorder and depression. This was my biggest challenge throughout the semester. I felt like I was seven again stuck under the false safety of my bed hiding from fabricated monsters of the dark. But I met some people along this struggle and they weren’t monsters. They were my angels. They made me see the brighter side of the world out from underneath the bed. It’s not so bad after all. Friends. They will remain that way for a long time. College is the defining moment for a person. The last few changes are made and the end product is the final, finished product overall after undergrad years.

I am still finding myself, but at the end of this struggle will be the reward. There is always the reward. I just need to keep my head in the game and try my best to be optimistic. People in 60s were afraid of the suburban way of life and the routine of work, sleep, and repeat. With friends, that is an impossible cycle.

I am grateful for Baruch, for its guidance, and for its people. Thank you.