As you may or may not remember, I started off my first semester of my sophomore year in a rocky place. I felt extremely angsty about the future and life in general, and that all took a bit of a toll on my friendships and my grades here in school. Fortunately, I’m here to report that things DO get better! 😀 I’ve been back on campus since January 11th for spring semester, and things have gotten increasingly better every single day since then.

I once again feel energized and hungry for learning. All of my classes in my schedule are appealing to me. I even decided to take an economics course; class that is just totally unrelated to my major but extremely interesting and with lots of real world applications! And most incredibly, I finally did something that I never thought I’d ever have the guts to do (as much as I wanted to do it) …I SANG IN PUBLIC!!!

I auditioned for one of my school’s most renowned a Capella groups about two weeks ago. I didn’t make it into the group but it was still a wonderful and exhilarating experience! I’ve since been practicing voice and piano in our music practice rooms to try and get better, as I have very little musical experience. I also participated in an Open Mic Night event on campus and sang there! It was so much fun and everyone was so supportive. I’ve also since then joined our school’s Mariachi band as a singer! I’m SO excited for this semester! The moral of the story is that I finally did something I’ve been wanting to do for years! I’m so proud of myself and still in awe about the fact that I’ve broken so many barriers in such little time!

I also auditioned for the student-run theater group on campus, known as TOOP (The Opposite of People) and MADE IT! 😀 This means I’ll have countless opportunities from here on till senior year to participate as an actor in tons of plays! So lots of exciting news on my part. 2013 is shaping up to be an AMAZING year and it’s only just begun! Something came over me this semester, this passion that I’ve held inside of me for so long finally just shined through. I feel invincible, extremely capable, and more motivated than ever to take advantage of the wonderful opportunity that college brings: The ability to EXPLORE.

 

Thanks to CSO and the University of Rochester for your endless support and this wonderful opportunity of higher education and fearless exploration. Life is wonderful.

 

With hopes & dreams intact,

Alexis =)