Rebecca Lin.

I joined Media, Self, & Society (MSS) in pursuit of professional and personal growth. Although my career endeavors were unrelated to journalism, I applied to this program because the topics interested me, and the communication skills taught were critical in the business world. Along with the tight-knit community, these reasons motivated me to join MSS.

 

And I’m glad I did: the program has been my most valuable college experience thus far. By challenging me to venture beyond my comfort zone, MSS helped me explore my strengths and weaknesses and realize which roles I fit and which I didn’t. In becoming a Media Scholar, I ultimately found myself.

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Yet I used to be content with comfort. Comfort was only doing things I excelled at; it was presenting ideas I knew would be accepted, and it was avoiding anything I didn’t know. However, I overcame my insecurities in MSS. I participated in activities even if I lacked experience because they were fun. Since the program emphasized effort over intelligence, I also learned to share my thoughts despite feeling uncertain about them. 

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Through repeatedly exposing me to the unfamiliar, MSS taught me to embrace new experiences. I began to view them with excitement instead of dread, for I would always gain more from trying than not trying at all. Had it not been for such opportunities and encouragement from MSS, I would have continued living in my bubble of familiarity. I would be paralyzed by what-if’s: what if I failed? What if I wasn’t enough? 

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But I am. Since joining MSS, I’ve spoken at open houses and marketed to strangers over Zoom—two things I had never envisioned myself having the confidence to do. While this site showcases such moments of growth, that doesn’t mean it stops there. 

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Here’s to stepping out of our bubbles,

Rebecca Lin