GLI's summer intern, Sarah Epstein, thanks her year-ago-self for helping her to be independent and embrace uncertainty today.

A year ago I had only traveled alone on a plane once, and my dad got me all the way to the gate with my mom waiting for me in baggage claim on the other side. Now I have flown solo more times than I can count, alone (and confident) every step of the way. Going to school across the country has led to inevitable flights between home and Boston, but I have also flown to Colorado and a few other places in the mix. In addition to air travel, I can now add Greyhound buses to my list of expertise, as this summer a friend of mine and I traveled on our own by bus and shuttle between Oakland, California and Zion National Park in Utah.

A year ago I knew exactly what I wanted to study, and eventually what I wanted to do with my life. Or so I thought. I was dead set on going to Boston University because they had the best Communications program, and I had this dream of working in media and I thought that was "it" for me. No other options. Well, a year later, I could not be more unsure. I am sticking to my major, because I am still interested in it, but while traveling across state borders on a Greyhound bus, it became evident to me that there is so much more I want to do and so many more places I want to go, and maybe a degree in Mass Communication won't really help me get there.

A year ago, this uncertainty would have scared the pants off of me. But if I have learned nothing else this past year, it’s that being independent is invigorating, and not scary, and most definitely not something to shy away from.

This year has taught me to be brave, to go out on a limb, and to do what makes me happy, because at the end of the day that's what matters. I thank my “year-ago-self” for choosing Boston University because had I gone anywhere else I am not sure that I would have learned all that I did. I thank my “year-ago-self” for being so passionate about Communications because it led me to some really cool adventures, including a position as a student radio DJ and a photographer for a student magazine. I thank my “year-ago-self” for being flexible enough to learn, because now I need to take a lesson from her, realize that I still have more to learn and figure out, and I need to be flexible and easy going to allow these lessons to take place.

So, now as I am about to leave for another year at school, all I can do is  hope that it will be as full of lessons as this one was, so that I can look back and write another blog post beginning with "a year ago I had never …"