"There are no shortcuts to any place worth going..." --Sills

The past four years at SMC have been some of the best years of my life - I have made incredible friends, developed immensely in the classroom and grown, changed and matured almost immeasurably. SMC was far from a shortcut - I worked really hard, learned a lot and feel very prepared for the life which is ahead of me - and I know that my future is a place worth going.

Having a Bachelor of Arts degree in English is the supposedly the biggest result of the past four years, but I think that I've gotten so much more than just a piece of paper. The things that I appreciate most are the friendships, memories and skills that I have acquired at SMC. I learned Western Calligraphy, West African Drumming, fiction writing, ancient philosophy, meteorology, Spanish, critical thinking, effective communication skills and so much more. I studied in France, did service both domestically and internationally, lived with and learned from amazing roommates and friends and worked harder than I thought possible to complete all of the requirements for graduation. I've looked up to incredible role models, especially in the admissions office, MOVE office and English department, and I hope that I've set a positive example for those who will come after me. This has been a challenging, wonderful experience and although I feel completely ready to move on and start something new, I feel blessed by each and every experience, interaction and piece of knowledge.

I've loved writing this blog for the past two and a half years. It's reminded me how lucky I am to have all of the opportunities that I do, and I hope that it has been helpful to you, whoever you may be. I appreciate all of my loyal readers and I'm sad to say goodbye! However, I'm off to good places - as I wrote a few weeks back, I will be spending my summer on Lake Fairlee in Post Mills, VT as a camp counselor and will then be an AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteer at the Middlebury College Alliance for Civic Engagement Office for a year starting at the end of August. I'll also be taking some time to celebrate graduation down in Florida before I start my job at camp with my best friend from high school, Kristin - I'll be making my first trip to Disneyworld (better late than never, right?) and am looking forward to spending a week relaxing, enjoying the beautiful weather and spending time with a really good old friend.

If I can, I'll keep writing, and I hope you'll keep reading! Life is good, and I am headed to a place very much worth going. Thanks for reading.

Very Sincerely,
Carrie