Happy New Year!

Over this year’s break, I was able to have a chance to reflect, relax, and refresh myself for this upcoming semester. Fall semester of Junior year was probably my favorite, but that did not remove the stress that came with it! It was very important for me to have a chance to unwind and I’ll never stop repeating how important it is to have time to not do anything! Seriously, make sure you aren’t working yourself too hard!

Over break, I had a very cool opportunity to “meet” some of my fellow I’m First Bloggers via Google Hangouts. We had an in-depth conversation about our backgrounds and our experiences as First Generation students in college. As I mentioned when I met with them, I felt like I had a support system of fellow First Generation students built into my experience at college because of the SPECTRA program that I did prior to my first semester. However, it was definitely a great experience to hear what First Generation students were experiencing at their respective campuses and to share our experiences with one another.

I want to take this time to remind anyone who is reading this that you are not alone in experiencing struggles during your time at college. Emotionally, financially, mentally… You’re never alone! You have a family and network of First Generation students whether you know it or not. We all are in this journey of bettering ourselves and bettering our world together. College is not always fun; as a matter of fact, it’s often difficult. I’ve had the most difficult times in my life during college… But I’ve also had the best. And a big part of that is knowing that I have lots of people who believe in me, against the odds. If you feel that you don’t have anyone who believes in you, go ahead and consider me a believer. I know you can do anything, sincerely.

Ultimately, this was a great experience for me. It reinvigorated my drive for school this upcoming semester. It was great to meet people like me and they all inspired me to hit the ground running this semester… I hope as you read this blog and the blogs of my new friends, you can derive some inspiration from them as well.