“Busy woman, all the time”

I am constantly listening to “Busy Woman” by Sabrina Carpenter because I feel like that song perfectly encapsulates my life! I was literally a busy woman for the past four months! Firstly, I apologize for not posting anything these past couple of weeks. Unfortunately, my schedule was so busy that something had to give. I decided to take a break from posting on here because so many of my other obligations included writing long blog posts or projects. I did not want to publish pieces that I was not proud of, so I decided to take a step back. Then, I took the last two weeks off completely in order to recoup after the craziness of junior year.

However, I am back now, and I am so excited to get back into the flow of writing and publishing pieces that I love! For my first blog post back, I wanted to give y’all some quick updates about what I have been doing during my break and some future plans for this summer. I hope that this gives y’all a window into my life and everything that I accomplished in 2025 so far and the things that I am looking foward to in the future!

Academic

• I finished my junior year of college at WashU. It is wild to think about going into my final year of my undergraduate degree in August! Meris, Melissa, and I just keep texting each other about how we cannot believe it will be our final year going to school together! There is definitely some sadness starting to show up, however, I am attempting to stay positive and focus on what I can control about my senior year!
• I applied to write an honors thesis next academic year! This has been something that I have wanted to do for the past three years and is currently one of my goals for 2025, so I am incredibly nervous yet excited to hear back and (hopefully!) undertake this project next academic year.
• I am also in the process of figuring out what I want to do after I graduate from WashU with my undergraduate degree in May 2026. I have decided to go for my Master’s degree! My dream is to attend King’s College London and obtain a Master’s in Shakespeare’s Studies. This means that I will (hopefully!) return to London – one of my favorite cities in the whole world – to study full-time for a year!

Professional

• I finished my fellowship with The Stories That Live Foundation. It was an exceptional experience, and I loved getting to know Nina and her powerful life story. This fellowship changed me so much, and I am so excited to share my work with you all very soon (so keep an eye out for that!).
• I worked two jobs this semester, too, which I understand is crazy to do on top of everything else I did these past four months. I worked for WashU’s Office of Spiritual, Religious, and Ethical Life for a little bit, but spent the majority of the semester continuing to work for Student Transitions & Engagement. I started a new role this year as a member of the Student Executive Board and it has been a tough yet rewarding job. Both of my jobs taught me so much this semester, and I am so excited to see what next semester holds in my role with STAE.
• I am still writing blog content for Arcadia Abroad! I wrote a blog piece earlier this semester titled “Three Lessons I Have Learned From Studying Abroad“. I will continue to publish some pieces this summer too. I was also interviewed for Arcadia University’s magazine that will be published very soon!

Personal

• To be honest, I have been in a bit of a slump for the past two months, and I could literally feel the burnout on the horizon. I held out until the semester ended, but it was not a fun feeling (my family and friends can probably attest to the fact that I have not felt like myself). So, I am taking the summer off from work in order to recharge after everything I accomplished last semester with five classes, two jobs, a fellowship, blog content with Arcadia, AND this blog.
• I am going to use this summer to recharge and recenter myself. It will be dedicated to writing for The Coneflower Chronicles, preparing to apply to graduate school in fall, and (hopefully!) researching for my honors thesis.
• This summer will also include lots of travel! My family is traveling to South Carolina for our family vacation, and I have a pilgrimage to France scheduled with Vistation Academy, my high school. I am also in the process of planning a trip to see Nina in Connecticut and a Nashville trip with my mom to see Dolly, The Musical.