Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at CU Boulder chapter.

I sit in my room, gazing at the frame on the shelf with my mother’s photo. She’s smiling, her eyes squinting just like mine do. Although she’s not here, I can feel a sense of myself in her image — knowing that with each passing day, my face will change again and look even closer to hers. And one day, I’ll look in the mirror and see her just as I knew her. 

Change.

This word has haunted me for as long as I can remember. The seasons changing, my age changing, my family and friends changing — all of it has terrified me. 

Change, in my mind, at one point only equated to negative states like death, loneliness, and spiritual hunger. Any shift would open the doors to terrible circumstances, and I would be left clinging to remnants of the past. 

With graduation a week away, I can’t help but reflect on how much has shifted during the last four years. To put it plainly, I’ve grown.

Art Changing GIF by sterossetti - Find & Share on GIPHY

My voice is clearer, I can focus easier, my heart doesn’t race at the thought of public speaking, I have more piercings, I have new friends, I like different music, I have a noticeable impact on people, I read more often, I love philosophy, I advocate for social justice, and I can’t even imagine myself being this happy four years ago. 

The experiences I’ve had during my time as an undergrad, from graduating summa cum laude all the way down to seeing the flowers bloom on campus again each year, have changed me in profound ways. I feel lucky to have undergone all of this evolution in such a short while. 

Change never had to haunt me because it was there the whole time. 

And even though life has taken away people, things, and places I love, I can’t help but be grateful for the ever-evolving nature of life. Like leaves falling for new ones to grow, my current self awaits the next stage of life, eager to see what grows in my place. 

Change brings growth far more than it depletes. 

So, as I prepare to move on, my entire worldview is changed. I will gaze fondly upon pictures, reminisce over journal entries, and smile at the me of yesterday. I long to show her what I learned, but I know she already knows. I can only hope that the me of tomorrow continues to embrace the love for change we’ve found. 

Change is necessary, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Samantha is an Editorial Assistant and Contributing Writer for CU Boulder's chapter of Her Campus. In her editorial position, she edits articles for clarity and provides guidance to other writers so they can improve their skills. As a contributing writer, she submits two articles per month, often writing in depth about social phenomena. Aside from Her Campus, Samantha is a senior at CU Boulder, double majoring in philosophy and sociology. She's currently working on an Honors Thesis in philosophy and hopes to go to law school after graduating in May 2024. She is involved in campus organizations like the Miramontes Arts and Sciences Program, the CU LA Program, and the Honors Program. This semester, she’s a mentor for learning assistants as an LA Mentor. Outside of a school setting, Samantha enjoys crocheting, reading, and writing. Overall, she’s very quiet, and her hobbies reflect that. She can usually be found with heaps of yarn or her nose buried in a book, silently enjoying her time alone. In addition to writing as a member of Her Campus, she enjoys writing short stories and pieces about her life. One of her biggest goals is to publish a book of stories and pieces that almost act as a memoir.