College Update, Future Goals & Embracing Change

I wrote my college personal statement about thank-you notes.

So, I'll begin by expressing my gratitude for the people and institutions who believed in my educational journey even when I doubted my abilities. PSA: this one is going to be shorter and more long-winded than my usual writing style, but then again this is a digital archive and what better way to convey authenticity than by making a few rambling (erm...stylistic) errors?

I was accepted to UMD College Park (Scholars Program), UPitt (Honors), Smith College, the University of North Carolina Chapel-Hill (Honors), Emory, and the University of Georgia (Honors w/ Presidential scholarship). I was waitlisted by WashU and Bowdoin, but chose not to join the wait-list as I had already committed to a school...UGA! Their Presidential scholarship allows me the flexibility to study out of state in a program I love for the price of in-state tuition.

Visiting campus only affirmed my decision. My mom and I went on a 11-hour long road trip South for an honors college and admitted students' visit, where I saw Athens for the first time. Let's just say we were shocked by how large campus was, but UGA does have a beautiful landscape and compelling weather. We saw research facilities, the dining hall, and of course the massive stadium. My camera roll is filled with bulldog mascot pictures from our trip.

At UGA, I am majoring in Regenerative Bioscience & Healthcare Policy/Management on the premed track.

Who knows what I'm going to do with this one wild, unpredictable life? I have run herthoughtspirals for over four years, and I never would have expected life to send me down south for the next four years. While many might see my decision as 'unconventional' or at the very least atypical, I am choosing to step into this new phase with curiosity and courage. Being creative and finding ways for

Building community has always introduced me to new opportunities and diverse perspectives. Empowering young people and listening to their inspiring stories is how I want to spend my career. Healthcare is broken, and healthcare is changing. Wherever corruption and malpractice exists, I am confident that there are also providers who chose a career in service because they want to make a positive difference. (Confident that I am being naive and I will look back on these words and roll my eyes, but who's judging now anyways).

Here is another narrative in my midyear update: a few days before I finished writing my personal statement, I had just begun learning how to drive. In my middle school's parking lot, my dad and I soon realized I was hopeless at parking and a nervous wreck whenever I fumbled turn signals. Summer 2025 phased into fall and winter, and today I passed my driving test. It was drizzling and cloudy, but I managed to park and not make any egregious mistakes. (Nobody needs to know I failed my learners permit test twice).

With my license in hand, now all I need is a basic understanding of how investments work and a summer job that pays hourly rather than intern-level stipend...hasn't everything gotten "so much" more manageable? These life updates somehow adopt greater magnitude as I type them out, but in my mind I've already moved on. Next month, I'll be studying for exams, searching for a roommate, trying to cram memories into whatever time I have left in my hometown before my environment changes.

I doubt I have enough life experiences to name it "nostalgia" but I want to have slower, meaningful days I can reflect on when life's overwhelm gets at me again. Life is a lot, and second semester senior year is not the cakewalk people describe. And yet, a simple joy exists in browsing bookstores with friends and recognizing childrens' books you once loved, wandering aisles in Target to discover you still long for the same toys branded under different company logos.

2026. The year I graduate and hopefully get my IB diploma so I never have to think about those dreadful exams again. I'll be nineteen before I realized where the time slipped away. Here's to new beginnings and exciting character arcs and side quests with new people who may become a strong network.

As Mary Oliver aptly writes, Open your mind/open your hands -- from her poem, "I don't want to live a small life" and also my senior quote.

GO DAWGS!!!