I have been attending the University of Massachusetts Boston since last summer, and I have met many different people between then and now. There have been some good experiences that I have had from semester to semester, however, I have had some negative experiences as well.

One of the good experiences that I can reflect upon clearly has been when I was welcomed in to The Mass Media in March of this year. Prior to joining, I felt as if my presence as a student held little to no value and thought of just giving up on my academic career. However, when I met with the co-editors-in-chief, I suddenly felt welcomed for the first time on campus. At that moment, I realized that I finally had a place within the UMass Boston community. Now, I can connect with people and form friendships over time. In that respect, I finally felt proud of myself for taking a risk and seeing what the results would be afterward. I honestly thought I would be turned away from The Mass Media because I thought I would be heavily judged based on how I look. Fortunately for me, that was not the case, and I am happy that I plan to continue to work with this great organization. I do hope to find another organization that is just as welcoming as The Mass Media. But, I still have a long way to go to make more friendships and connections with other members who are part of the UMass Boston community. 

However, there are some negative experiences that I have encountered, such as, name calling, being disrespected from other students based on my physical appearance, and feeling left out of events on campus. These experiences have hindered my ability to make friends and to fully focus on my academics because I tend to believe that what other people say negatively about me is true. Throughout my academic career so far, there have been times where I just wanted to give up on myself because I felt as if I could not succeed in my courses and I felt as if my presence was unwanted, which led me to think of dropping out altogether. But, I do not want to give up and I want to move forward from those negative experiences and start being more involved within the UMass Boston community, as well as the community outside of campus. I would like to become involved with volunteering and participate in student clubs and other organizations on campus. However, there is a constant feeling of being judged that I do worry about as a student that might hold me back from participating in clubs and organizations. At the same time, I feel as if my positive experiences—there are very few of them—have shaped me to become a decent student who will prove to others that I am good enough to succeed with my academic career and receive my degree within the next two to three years. I just hope that I can learn to overcome my personal issues and not feel overwhelmed during stressful times. The only advice that can be given is to reach out for help when you need it and make yourself known to others by saying hello and introducing yourself, especially to your classmates, your advisor, and your professors as well.