Sunday,May 15, 2011 marks an important date for me. It was Spring Convocation at St. Thomas University. I among many fellow colleagues received degrees. I now am a graduate of St. Thomas University where I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree, finally.
Many people who know me, know how big of a deal this is. I never once expected to attend university from my previous memory of being a high school student back in 2002. When I made that decision to attend University as a mature student, a lot of things changed. I never was a fan of change. I hated it. I wasn't exposed to much change most of my life. But when I went through the transition of living on my own, in my own apartment, working full time to becoming a full time student who was beginning a pile of debt, I was scared! Yes, very scared. I wasn't sure where that school would take me and whether I was mentally ready for this change. School wasn't let's say "easy" for me. I found it challenging. I had my days where I cried because I felt like a failure when I couldn't do well in statistics, or when I was so stressed out because I was faced with so much group work. Not many people even know how hard my second year of University was on me, I almost dropped out because of Quantitative research methods. I had my parents on the phone crying saying i can't do it, I want to leave. Reflecting back, so much would have changed for me if I did leave University that day. I taught myself valuable lessons through a class I didn't excel at, and that is if you really want something so bad, you will fight till the very end. I'm not proud that I barely passed the class, but I did pass and that's something to be proud of.
Through my years at STU, I met my family. Not my biological family, obviously. But a group of people that welcomed me with open arms and smiles that made me realize I belonged to that school. I discovered myself a bit more through my years when I lived in Vanier Hall from 2008-2011. I was never a girly girl growing up. Seeing me dresses didn't happen often if at all, painting my nails wasn't something I did often, nor did I do all my hair up all fancy. I was your average girl living in a place that was an all girls residence. Vanier changed me and I like to think I have changed Vanier too. I met a diverse group of girls in that house that are like little sisters to me. Sacha Smith and Amanda Dunsford were two of my best friends in my early years, we had supper together every night for a couple years I'm sure. One night there was a birthday party for a girl on first floor and none of us knew who the girl was but joined in on the singing of happy birthday with birthday hats on. Like that's the kind of sense of belonging Vanier gave.
My first meeting of Victoria Beaulieu was she was in the hallway doing laundry and I say hi would you like to come to dairy queen with us for ice cream? That's coming from the me, a girl who was considered shy. I met Sam Bates because I approached her asking her to sit with me Sacha and Amanda at a Vanier supper.
In my 2nd yr in Vanier I was seen as the one who brought 3rd floor together There was such a huge group of us that had supper together every night. Brittany, Asha, Kate, Ashley, Laura, Tara, Ashley, Rebecca, and Ayat. That year I met some of my best friends. I cherished my time with them.
But this finally year in Vanier really topped it off as a Residence Advisor. I loved that house and I couldn't have imagined my final year being more complete if i hadn't been in Vanier. I loved knowing that almost every night I would see Amy and Annie in the 2nd floor lounge nightly. I would find Val, Mallory, Katelyn, Katie and Jodie in the first floor lounge. Or how I would find Kendra, Jill, Alex, Robyn and Laura in the kitchen nightly. It was routine and if i can call it a ritual as it happened so often to find these girls around the house in their particular areas. I will also remember being the cheer off champions for 2010, what a rush that night was.
Honestly, I learnt my passion during my days in Vanier and at STU. I learned my passion for helping people. As my dad always says, "always put a smile on a strangers face". I always tried to make people smile when I was in others presence. Knowing I may have made a difference in someones life is rewarding on its own. I hope from this day forward I can continue to make changes, positive ones of course. I hope I can touch more lives in the process. I have lots of plans and potential goals to achieve, so I must go from there.
One goal I can finally check off my list to do: is I now have my Bachelor of Arts Degree. That is incredible on its own. I'm sure if i could go back in time I would have tried to do better in my classes or done a few things differently. But I'm proud of what I have accomplished. This final year was a challenge, but nothing I couldn't overcome. It truly shows you how strong you are, as you are never given more than you can handle. :)
Change brings opportunity. So does the road ahead. Walking this path will bring me to my destination, eventually.
