Throughout the school year, I have learned one thing, and that’s the ability to adapt. This school year has been full of changes for me, both personal and academic. I think perhaps this year was so hard because I found that I wouldn’t do the things I wanted to do. After all, I was afraid.

Fear held me back from doing a lot of things. Either trying to make new friends because I was afraid they wouldn’t like me, or I wouldn’t try as hard as I should have on assignments because I thought I would fail, or in general, I just wouldn’t do activities because I was afraid to do them alone.

One big fear of not doing things I always wanted to do was the fear of looking stupid. I think a part of me growing in this school year and just growing up in general is that I stopped fearing looking stupid.

The fear of being judged was immense for me, I felt as though everyone would see right through me and realize how awkward and eccentric I was and decide I was too weird to be associated with. So, I kept to myself I played it safe and did things others wanted me to do instead of pushing back when I didn’t want to do something.

I am of the opinion that a big part of being yourself is not caring what others think of you.  A big step for me was realizing it was okay to be loud, eccentric and weird, and it was the people in my department that made me realize that it was okay to be me.

The faculty of arts, specifically the English department, are genuinely some of the most authentic and kind people I have met in my entire life. In my opinion, I have never met such an embracing, smart and emotionally intelligent group of people, and I think a large portion of me feeling freer to be a little weirder and a little more myself is because of them.

I say — when you find a group of people you can be yourself around, that is special because I don’t think everyone finds that. For me, it was the people in the English department who made that possible and I am lucky to have experienced them.

Having a group of people who make you feel fulfilled and happy is important for both physical and mental well-being. When you have people who support you and cheer you on instead of bring you down, it helps with your self-esteem, which benefits your mental well-being and allows you to be seen as who you truly are.

Stop being afraid of what people think of you and start living life for you. Go against the grain, be who you are. In my opinion, people like the real you much better than the image you think everyone will like instead.

Having friends who support me has allowed me to thrive, decreased my stress and, in my opinion, helped decrease how often OCD affects me within a day.

This year has been a year of changes for me. I’ve been to more social functions this year at the U of M than ever before. I’ve found myself going to socials, attending sporting events and hanging out more on campus. I believe that when you find your “people” who make you feel fulfilled, it makes all the difference.

Now that classes are winding down, I find myself feeling nostalgic for the moments I’ve experienced, whether with my friends on campus or all the things I’ve learned this year that I didn’t know before, and I know that sounds cheesy, but it’s true.

I’ve always viewed my life as a constant string of backflips, never moving forward, just backward. But for the first time, I feel like I’m cartwheeling forward. Although I most definitely do not have everything figured out, I know it’ll be okay because I have people who are cheering me on even when I fail.

I would just like to thank anyone who has read my articles this year. It means the world to me that I had the privilege to write for you. If I could leave a piece of advice to whoever reads these articles, it would be to do what makes you happy. I hope to see you all on campus next term. This is Quinn signing off.