I have learned that surrounding yourself with people who uplift you is so important. My dad always said to me “You are the average of the five people you hang out with”. When you think about it, this is very true. I have been so lucky to be surrounded by family that is loving and supports me and friends who are hardworking and good people. Having this kind of support group keeps you grounded when you might be going through some hard times.

Three people I would like to highlight in this blog are my three older sisters. Growing up with a big family, I have gotten so close to all of my siblings and you connect in a lot of different ways. My sister and I have always been close and have done so much together. We tell each other everything and call each other out when one of us might be out of line. This past year, I was the last sibling to be shipped off to college. My siblings gave me a lot of advice and told me all the tips and tricks of how to survive in college. As much as I was excited to go, I was going to miss my family and friends but knew that there was so much waiting for me at Penn State.

The first semester had its ups and downs but one constant was checking in with my sisters. They helped me navigate situations and were always there when I needed to talk. When I needed advice, they were always there to provide some insight for me. Being able to be so close with people who know support you is a great thing and I am so lucky to have that I have had that during a big shift in my life. On the other side of this, you need to be there when others are in need. Maintaining good relationships is a two-sided street and being able to show this through actions is vital.

As the first year of college is wrapping up, one of the biggest takeaways is surrounding yourself with good people. My roommates have become like sisters and I’ve met so many amazing people throughout the two semesters. It’s so crazy to look back at the first week here and not knowing anyone and the campus feeling like such a foreign place. But now, as your circle grows, the community around you becomes so familiar and a crucial part of your life.

At the end of the day, people are always looking for more human connection. It can seem nerve-wracking to meet new people and step out of your comfort zone. For me, there were a lot of rocky moments in the beginning, but learning how to adapt to this change and figure out how to make it feel easier and natural can help you start sailing smoothly. This all starts with finding those people that you connect with and enjoy being around. After that, everything becomes easier!

My family has always been huge on anything and everything music. My parents who both grew up in the 70s and 80s were always very musically inclined and enjoyed being able to grow up listening to such influential music throughout the years. My mom especially embraced music and following many bands that she grew up hearing all the time. She has gone to so many concerts in her years including Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, and even The Rolling Stones. She kept all of her tickets and the little brochures they would hand out at the concerts. 

When we moved out of our old box, we went through a box of all her old concert tickets and music-related goods. When they saw how interested I was in their music past, my parents gifted me a lot of the old knick-knacks they had from when they grew up. This included a lot of records old posters and shirts. Seeing this side of her made me think about how your parents are growing up right aside of you. It’s easy to have the mindset that your parents have always been adults and weren’t out of age once. This helped me put into perspective how I see my parents and how they are going through life the same way I am. 

Putting people on a pedestal like that can create a damaging perspective of the people around you. This can even be true for celebrities that we see in this day and age. It’s easy to watch their life through social media or TV and see the glamorized version of these people who are, at the end of the day, just people. For me, during COVID and lockdown, I got stuck in a bubble where I would idolize these people that I saw through my screen and fully believe that they had perfect lives and never struggled with anything. This perspective can be harming to people who struggle to find their own identity. Putting people on pedestals can make you believe that those people are flawless and you look up to them in every way. This can result in trying to achieve a lifestyle that isn’t even attainable because it is unrealistic. 

I have seen this problem happening a lot, especially people going through their teenage years. Social media plays a big part in this issue. People tend to only post the highlights in their day-to-day lives (because who would post the bad parts?). When people see this they tend to gravitate to the fact that “that influencer’s life is so perfect and I need to be more like them”. This mindset will only harm people’s quality of life. 

Shortly, I hope that this style of social media is combatted with a more healthy and realistic solution. If we continue to paint celebrities and social media influencers in this light, people’s mental health will plummet. This perspective doesn’t apply to everyone, but there is a high majority of people who struggle with social media image and are overall influenced by what people post online. 

I am a big advocate for traveling whenever you get the opportunity to. It allows you to widen your look on the world and helps you create a new perspective on day-to-day life. This past summer I was able to go to Portugal with one of my friends and it was an amazing experience. Being able to see the different cultures within new places is my favorite part of traveling because it helps you grasp what it really means to be human. All of us are so different, but we connect with each other in so many profound ways.

One of my favorite parts of Portugal was the color you would see everywhere you look. Since they are known for their tile, especially Lisbon, each building is covered with beautiful colors and intricate designs within each brick and tile. The views in this country were absolutely breathtaking. Because we stayed in Lisbon for the majority of the trip, we were surrounded by beaches nearby, historic cobblestone streets, and private nooks and crannies within the streets of Lisbon. The ocean was bright blue and almost blended in with the sky. Taking in the natural beauty that the world has given to us is so vital in appreciating life.

Growing up with three older brothers who were (and still are) obsessed with anything soccer, I knew going into this trip that we were entering Ronaldo territory. It was insane to see how many people would walk the streets with his jersey on, and how many stores sold his jerseys. There had to be one on at least every street. My friend and I even got to go to a store that was completely dedicated to Ronaldo. Anything that you could imagine being sold as Ronaldo paraphernalia, was there. A three floor store solely dedicated to him. I know this will sound a bit contradictory when I say it, but on this trip I bought a Messi jersey. I got a lot of weird stares but I always liked Messi better than Ronaldo and had to stay true to that.

My friend and I got the opportunity to attended a concert that was happening right in the main square of Lisbon. This was my favorite part of the trip. We met so many people from around the world and everyone was so joyful and happy to be there. It was an experience that made me realize how much I love traveling and experience things I never would if I were to stay in the States. Meeting people from these places and talking to them always helps me connect more with the country and how much these places mean to people. There is so much of this world to experience, and I want to see as much of it as I can. And I hope you do too!

There can definitely be a lot of stress and expenses in traveling, but when you go, it almost always ends up being worth it. Expanding your horizon and opening yourself up to new experiences can never be a regret.

Following up along the lines of education, I want to talk about SATs and ACTs and the stress they cause for high school students. Junior year of high school is typically when people’s schoolwork starts to skyrocket. With schedules filled with various AP classes and the stress of thinking about applying to colleges and getting good SAT scores. I remember my junior year feeling exactly this way. My school took their academics very seriously and there was a lot of pressure to get into good colleges and have high SAT scores. My classmates were extremely competitive which made this all the more stressful.

Starting many AP classes and preparing for SATs was starting to take a toll on me and I was feeling burnt out. Having one test determine a good amount of what kind of colleges you were going to get accepted into was a scary thought for me. When the time rolled around to take my first test, I barely slept the night before (even though this is heavily advised NOT to do). The intricate rules and formality of how the test is taken, can affect performance and make you more nervous leading up to it. Although the first SAT I took could’ve gone worse, I didn’t feel satisfied with my score or what I did to prepare leading up to it. Hearing my classmates talk about their scores only made me feel more insecure about what I got and led my downward spiral of questions like “I need to do better”, “I’m not going to get into college”, and “Everyone else is so much smarter than me”.

At such an impressionable age, having this much build to a test that “determines your future” can become toxic and can ultimately worsen high school’s motivation for school. In current years, the weight of SATs and ACTs has been taken off to an extent, which has relieved the stress of many teens. Keeping your scores optional on college applications can help implement a fairer way of reviewing applications and seeing how the candidate is overall academically instead of focusing on an SAT or ACT score.

There have been studies showing that a high school GPA is better at determining a student’s academic status and their ability to achieve at the college they are applying to. This makes sense because a GPA shows the overall grades throughout high school and the classes they took. If a person doesn’t perform to the best of their ability in a standardized test setting or is having an off day when taking the test, this can veer off the whole college application process. One bad test experience shouldn’t have this much weight on an application.

It’s important to take into account what is best for the teenagers taking these tests and create a more even-paying field that allows all students to showcase their academic skills through a stress-free and flawed system that has been proven to not be as effective as it was thought to be.