If in August 2022, you asked me what I thought my time at the University of Notre Dame would look like, I probably would have given you a clear and confident answer. I would have told you about classes I’d like to take, clubs I hoped to join, and would’ve declared with certainty that I’d become a lawyer after graduating.
Four years later, my Notre Dame experience has been less like a straight line and more like a curved and branching path, complete with loops that landed me in the same place I started and unexpected turns that took me places I never thought I’d go. It’s often been improvised and unsure, but I have stayed always in motion, always learning, taking advantage of every opportunity Notre Dame can offer.
In a lot of ways, things have come full circle for me. As a freshman, I took an introductory American politics course, Keeping the Republic, which I now serve as a TA (teaching assistant) for with Professor Campbell, a prominent scholar I never thought I’d get the chance to get to know. I found my first extracurricular in the Notre Dame Ballet Club, but was disappointed that they did not put on a showcase. This year, as co-President of the club, we were able to put on our very first showcase, “The Fairy Garden,” at Washington Hall. It was by no means easy, with no road map to follow and a long to-do list of logistics, costumes, and contracts. Yet it is also the achievement I am most proud of, merging my creativity, love for dance, and leadership skills that grew so much over these four years.
I might have been able to predict those accomplishments, but there were also many adventures I never would’ve imagined. I took Japanese as a freshman, seeking a completely unfamiliar language (and to fill my language requirement), and ended up spending a semester abroad in Nagoya, seeing Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and many beautiful towns in between. I learned Japanese dance, saw shows, ate a lot of conveyor belt sushi with my Notre Dame cohort, and became semi-fluent in the language. I also took a creative writing summer course in Kylemore Abbey, Ireland. The beautiful place, the supportive professors and friendly peers, and the way it all just felt right made me realize that no matter how difficult it will be, I need to pursue a creative life.
Changing my mind about law was difficult and painful. I constantly second-guessed myself and doubted my aptitude, wanting to turn back to the more stable path of a lawyer. But every time I faltered, I remembered the most important lesson I learned at Notre Dame—-to be my most authentic self. Somewhat problematically for me (and my parents, who wanted a lawyer daughter), my most true self is an undeniable creative. As a Program Assistant at the Gender Relations Center, my favorite part of the job was thinking up event ideas and making graphics for the ND instagram. My favorite course was Introductory Poetry. Though I’m making a risky switch, I gained the confidence at Notre Dame—through all the people who gave me a chance as a student, a choreographer, a leader—- to give myself a chance as a creative writer. As I get ready to graduate, I don’t have a perfectly mapped-out future. I’ll be pursuing an editorial internship with a small publication while expanding my creative portfolio and preparing to apply for a Master of Fine Arts in poetry. Fingers crossed!
Yet if my time at Notre Dame has taught me anything, it’s that the most meaningful and true parts of your story often come from the things you could never have planned—passing conversations in dorm hallways that leave you thinking, elective courses you take on a whim, the professor who invites you for coffee, and the unexpected support of strangers.
I think maybe that’s the point. Not to arrive exactly as you imagined, but to leave changed in unanticipated ways. I am proud of the person I have become, other-centered with a deep respect for the dignity of all people, honest with not only others, but myself, and with a radical belief that I can be someone, even in a rapidly changing world.