As the year comes to an end, I’ve been thinking a lot recently about my year as a whole and the things that I’ve done. Overall, 2025 has been a great year, and I’ve had the opportunity to do some really cool stuff. Here is my year-end review!
- Turning 19
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I started off my year by turning 19, making this my last year as a teenager. It has been a weird feeling knowing that in just over a month, I will be on my way to real adulthood. 19 isn’t exactly the most exciting age, but I’ve had a good opportunity to reflect on my teenage years and think about how I’ve changed as a person over the past six years. If I had to give a piece of advice to my 13-year-old self, I’d tell her to trust the process and not to get stuck on the little things. I’m nervous and excited to see what my 20s will bring me!
- Finishing off My Freshman Year
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In May, I completed my first year of college with flying colors. I finished off the year strong and really enjoyed my experience at UMass. Everything from the academics, food, and social life was great, and I definitely made the right decision. If you’re thinking about applying to UMass, I would highly recommend it. Speaking as a political science major, the quality of my education has been extremely good, and you can tell that the professors care about what they’re teaching. I’ve met a lot of cool people while being here as well, who have made UMass feel like home.
- Road Trip to Nova Scotia
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Over the summer, I took a road trip with my family and our friends up to Nova Scotia. We had a packed itinerary that included roaming the cities, exploring national parks, and lots of time in the car. My favorite thing that we did during the trip was going tidal bore rafting on the Bay of Fundy. Tidal bores occur in very few places and are caused by a large amount of water from the ocean rushing into a river. In the Bay of Fundy, the tides change quickly; it only takes six hours to go from high to low tide and vice versa. The highest recorded waves in the Bay of Fundy are 16 meters (54 feet) high. Rafting the waves was super fun, and afterwards we were able to go mud sliding once the tide started to go down. If you’re ever in the Nova Scotia area, I would definitely recommend going on one of these tours.
- Working at Summer Camp
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One of the things that I look forward to the most during the summer is working at Camp Gottalikachallenge. I went to this camp for two years when I was in middle school, and this was my third summer working as a counselor. Gotta Camp is a creative problem-solving camp that is affiliated with the program Destination Imagination. The activities that we do include both fine arts and STEM skills, and offer our campers the opportunity to try out new things in a supportive environment. My favorite part of the week is the talent show that I run with one of my friends, who is also a counselor. I love seeing what the campers come up with and helping them prepare their performance. Working with this group of kids has by far been one of the most rewarding experiences that I’ve had.
- Suite Mates in My Hometown
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Over the Indigenous Peoples’ Day long weekend, I had the privilege to host my five suite mates at my house. I’m from New Hampshire, so it wasn’t a far trek, but this getaway offered some much-needed downtime for all of us. After living in the same place for my whole life, it’s easy to take for granted the beauty of the area I live in. However, many of my friends are not from New England, so their experience gave me a new appreciation for my town and the fall foliage. Their favorite part of the trip was walking around my hometown and admiring the similarities that it had to that of the town in Gilmore Girls.
While my year wasn’t as eventful as some others I’ve had, it was still full of good things that made me happy and fulfilled. It’s sad to see another year go by, but I’m looking forward to what 2026 has to offer!
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