What a crazy journey it's been

Toward the end of my senior year of high school when I was thinking about college, I told myself this was an opportunity to reinvent myself in a way. Not that I wanted to change who I was entirely, but I saw it as an opportunity to improve some things I maybe didn’t like as much. In high school I didn’t like how closed off I was. I often wouldn’t give people the benefit of the doubt and that would lead to me not making friends easily.

This is something I was determined to turn around. Every new chapter in your life brings changes and I was determined for this change to be a positive one. The main thing I wanted to do differently was be more outgoing and make new friends. I left high school with only two friends, and I always regretted I didn’t make more of an effort to make more friends. I saw college as a start of a new chapter and an opportunity to put myself out there, but COVID had a different idea.

My freshman year in 2020, I moved into Columbia Hall and was trying my hardest to make connections with the other girls in my hall or people I had met through the Facebook page. All of this was going well until our in-person classes had to be moved online because the COVID cases in our area got too high. Because the classes got moved online, Bloomsburg was offering refunds on our room and board, which meant most people moved back home. I tried to stick it out as long as I could. I stayed for about a month and wanted to stay longer, but once I realized lots of people were leaving, I also went home. This really put a damper on my plans to reinvent myself and try better to make friends in college.

Although this sort of derailed my plans, I didn’t let it stop me from accomplishing my goal. I spent my sophomore year really trying to continue any relationships I formed in that short time I was on campus my freshman year and trying to form new friendships. I decided to move back to Bloom and get an apartment with my boyfriend Dylan. I didn’t have anyone I could get a dorm room with plus I thought it would be fun to live with my boyfriend. Moving back to Bloom after being home for most of my freshman year was kind of like I was moving to Bloom for the first time again. This was in a way my freshman year because I hadn’t fully experienced what it was like to be at college. Through this whole experience I really taught myself perseverance and to trust the process. Although the beginning of my college journey didn’t go the way I planned it still all ended up working out the way it was meant to.

In the past, I would have let these challenges stop me from trying again. This is why I struggled so much with building friendships in high school. I also felt since you go to school with the same people since elementary school, most friendships were already established. I found it hard for me to put myself out there because of my fear of rejection. If I had faced one issue or one roadblock, I would have completely jumped ship. 

But this experience was so important to me, and I really didn’t want to look back on college and think I should have done things differently. I forced myself to face my fears because I knew it would benefit me in the long run. I have seen myself mature and learn so many useful lessons through my four years. I understand the importance of good loyal friends who are always in your corner. If it weren't for my friends and my boyfriend I wouldn’t have been as successful through college as I was.

I also learned the importance of trusting your instincts. Not just in school, but also in life. Since I took a risk of putting myself out there and being vulnerable with strangers and it actually worked, it showed me I need to believe in myself. I would have never found my best friend Morgan if it weren’t for me going into college with this mindset. The college journey truly prepares you for your transition to adulthood. I felt like I was so underprepared when I entered college, but now I am a much more mature and prepared person who’s ready to enter the workforce. With that comes many decisions. I feel so confident in the degree I will be graduating with, the friends I have gained along the way, and the experiences I have. I will be graduating in May with a degree in communication studies, a focus in organizational communication, and a minor in psychology. 

The professors in the communication department are truly the best. They know their stuff and they are so encouraging and will help their students success in any way possible. I know because of them I truly am prepared to graduate. With all these tools I’m trusting I will be able to have a successful career. Although my path from here on out might be a little unknown I now have the skills to handle that better. 

If I face a bump in the road, I'm better equipped to handle it and trust everything happens for a reason. The support system I've built through this crazy journey will carry me through any hardships I might face. For now, I must embrace the scarries and see what the world has to offer me post-grad.

— Monica Wilt, a senior communication studies major at Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg with an emphasis on organizational communication, is interning with the Office of Marketing and Communications this spring. She is a native of New Cumberland, who loves Taylor Swift, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the show Survivor.

#BloomOnward #HuskyLife

Thank you for being exactly what I needed

Looking at my graduation cap and gown hanging in the closet in front of me, I feel a lot of things.

There’s a slideshow in my head of the past four years. Of how my freshman year self feels like a different life time, yet my college career flew by in a blink of an eye. Can’t say I loved every minute of college. I’m not sure anyone can, but I wouldn’t change any of it to become who I am and where I am.

The best friends who were strangers from all over the place are now like family. My boyfriend who I met the very first day of sophomore year in that algebra class has stuck by me to this day. They’ve been my best friends, my roommates, my rock, my shoulder to cry on, and my happiest memories.

To them — thank you for being exactly what I needed and for helping me become who I am.

Every part of this town turned into home for me. From living in Montour Hall to living by the downtown fountain, to living in my sorority chapter house. The coworkers at Steph's Subs and Aramark who I shared dreadful shifts with, yet loved where we were. The peers in my major who started as someone to ask a question turned to someone to call a friend.

Home isn’t a place but a feeling, and Bloomsburg has that feeling. I’m sad to leave, but I can begin to grow a life based off of what it gave me.

Looking at my cap and gown, I think of my high school graduation — the girl I was then, starting out in the world not knowing where I’d end up.

Now I think of the girl I am now. Completing my biggest accomplishment in life thus far. Making my family proud as a first-generation college student.

I can say confidently now I'm the girl who knows exactly what she wants and has what it takes to see it through. Looking at that cap and gown, I’m proud of myself. It’s bittersweet; I’m sad, I’m happy, but most of all I’m excited for what the next stage of my life is going to bring me.

And I can thank Bloomsburg for that.

— Drew Hess, a graduating senior communication studies major and emergent media minor, interned with the Office of Marketing and Communications this spring. She is a native of Stowe, Vt., a town of 4,472 people in northern Vermont known for its trails and ski slopes.

#BloomOnward #HuskyLife