Fall 2021 Reflection

Today is my very last first day of class, for the time being at least. After approximately 15 years of preK-12th grade, and 4 years of undergrad, my time at school is coming to an end. I even graduate from Princeton 4 months from today, somehow. The time has really gone by quickly and now it’s up to me to make the most of my last semester. First, I wanted to reflect on Fall 2021.

Fall 2021 certainly had its ups and downs. I was in three classes last semester, in-person for the first time in a year and a half! This was my third year in a row of a journalism class in the fall and as usual, my journalism class was my favorite class. This year’s class was Politics and the Media: The Art of the Political Profile, taught by Terence Samuel, a visiting professor who’s a managing editor at NPR. Terry, as we called him, really emphasized the humanity in journalism and made me rethink how I interview sources and structure my pieces. He brought in several amazing guests, including his wife who’s also a journalist, except he didn’t reveal their relationship until there were five minutes left of class! I wrote my final article for this class about Judy Heumann, acclaimed disability rights activist who I’m fortunate enough to be able to call a mentor and friend now. I also took an introductory American Sign Language class, which was a really interesting experience. ASL is a difficult language but it’s also so important for people to learn because if more people knew ASL, it would create a more inclusive society. The professor was actually Deaf and just so knowledgeable about the challenges Deaf people face and how Deafness relates to the greater disability community. I especially appreciated learning more about Deaf history and culture. My final class was international relations, which was my last class for my major. To be honest, I was not the biggest fan of this class. It felt too much like a history of war for my taste, and the expectations were unreasonably harsh. But I made it through after lots of challenges, and that’s what counts in the end.

In addition to some academic struggles, I also had health challenges last semester, unrelated to COVID-19. It seemed like everyone caught random viruses all throughout the fall that were commonly called the Princeton Plague. Unfortunately, my body isn’t always so good at handling random viruses, and my cold virus turned into pneumonia. I had to go to the hospital near campus for a few days, in the middle of midterms week. I really didn’t feel great, but this still wasn’t nearly as bad as my pneumonia in middle school that some of you might be familiar with. I luckily got to go home for fall break to recover, but then I got another cough a few weeks later. Here’s hoping for a much better health semester this spring.

Socially, I had an amazing semester because in-person activities were permitted once again, although obviously with masks and other COVID-19 guidelines. From surprise birthday parties to dinners in town, eating club semiformals to conversations in my dorm room that lasted deep into the night, I’m so glad that I was able to make many amazing memories with the wonderful friends I cherish so much. I got closer to many people in my eating club and organizations like The Daily Princetonian. The ‘Prince’ continued to be the best part of Princeton. I was an associate news editor still until about a month ago. In the fall, I got to edit articles side-by-side with the writer in the newsroom, which was so much better than trying to do so over Zoom. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to both improve my writing skills and also gain such an incredible community throughout my time as a writer and editor. I also planned events for students with disabilities in my role as an AccessAbility Center fellow, wrote blogs for Princeton admissions, advocated for better campus policies related to disability and inclusion as the co-chair of the student government Disability Task Force, and supported freshman in their transition to Princeton in my role as a Peer Academic Adviser. I’ve also been working on my senior thesis, which is about how turnout of disabled voters in the 2020 election increased significantly and what we can learn from that for future elections. Clearly, I like to stay busy.

My next adventure will be looking for a job, which is definitely a bit intimidating! I’m hoping to work in nonprofit advocacy, government, or communications, hopefully somewhere in Washington DC. I went to DC almost every weekend over the summer and really fell in love with the city. I could definitely see myself there and hope to live independently as I’ve prepared myself to for my entire life. I’m excited to enjoy this last semester and I can’t wait to see what comes next!