Everyone has been affected by the pandemic, unless you live on a self-sustaining island there is no way that you were unaffected. I personally was affected because of how covid was a part of my transferring college experience. I graduated high school with the intention of knowing that I couldn't afford the school I wanted to go to, I tried my best at community college pushing to get good grades and retaking classes that weren't where I needed them to be. I finally applied and got into my dream school and was paying for the initial costs out of pocket and with what I had leftover from a scholarship that I had received. When I had started applying for my classes I learned that more than half of my classes didn't transfer, and I was distraught and a bit furious that I had relied on, my counselor to lead me in the right direction and because I was a first-generation I had no other backing of someone who had completed college to teach me what to do. I still continued and pushed forward even though I felt unsteady as someone who was about to turn 20 in an atmosphere and position where I was at a freshman-level in credits and was surrounded by people all in the same experience of life even though I already had my foot in college and the personal maturity of understanding and figuring out who I was. I felt the need to always emphasize that I was a transfer and not a clueless freshman who was ready to live her life on her own. As I was finally at my dream school it was in the midst of a global pandemic, I thought it was going to be like the movies and I was ready to experience that dorm life with roomies and that was not what I received, I was in a room meant for 3 people all on my own which was pretty foreign as I have a sister I have always shared a room with. I had a sense of peace in being in my own space where I could do what I want with the space and take advantage of doing what I want the way I want to. The first semester was pretty great but my second semester went pretty downhill, The excitement had kind of faded and the realization hit me my friend group of three became more of a group of 2 and I started to feel left out and didn't want to beg for attention because I have never been one to seek the affirmation of other people, Even though I was tired of being viewed as a good friend but not good enough to seek out the comfort of other people I didn't know how to approach people about it which made me feel insecure. I felt like there was a gap in how I treated people and how I was being treated on top of the constant isolation we were in when there were limits on what was allowed. I would have class and the work attached for at least 10 hours and then I would have an hour away from my room within the day that I was picking up a meal and either eating it outside or back inside, it was a constant cycle that was getting old fast that I was alone for a majority of my time and self-doubt on my worth and confidence was digging me in a deep pit, I was gaining weight and felt that I wasn't where I needed to be physically, socially, and emotionally. It took e a long time to realize that what I was suffering from was mental health issues and even now I'm still working on understanding myself through all the trials in adulthood.

I have friends in New York, Germany, and Kentucky! When I was in second grade I only had a pen pal from a different city and now I have friends around the world. With the help of the internet, not only can we work, research, study and explore online we are also able to be on platforms that we can use as a common ground. For me, I am an ambassador of a Modest platform that is a safe and confident space for women of different religions to find a common ground in dressing modestly and feeling confident with not looking and dressing like everyone in Fashion. It allows for all of us to be inspired by each other and find comfort in the fact that we don't need to expose what we believe we should preserve according to our religion but still feel stylish, confident, and relevant! There are lots of pressures in this society to take part in pop culture and when you have higher convictions and beliefs and morals, you have to sometimes choose but if you have a support system then you will feel like there is a group and community that will constantly support you and be the voice when you aren't feeling uplifted. The internet is such a big space to learn and grow hobbies and have opportunities to reach the world from different perspectives. With these types of platforms, there's a different type of inclusivity accomplished than school clubs, book clubs, and fan clubs because of the reach that can be grasped, there are profiles and communities for the most interesting things but they make people feel like they belong to something that they are passionate about.