The Minority Report | Ashley Kim

At the beginning of this semester, I thought my biggest challenge would be completing all the required math and science classes I’ve been putting off for four years, but, I never could have imagined the obstacles I would actually have to overcome.

Late last year, I got strep throat for the first time, which landed me with a subsequent ER visit, which left me missing multiple classes at the beginning of this semester. I got strep two more times after that, and you guessed it, I had to miss classes again. I went through a difficult friendship breakup with someone that both compromised my trust in other people and made me feel very insecure with my ability to be a good friend. Subsequently, my overall mentality and confidence suffered, and I found it difficult to focus on tasks at hand. A few weeks ago, I was in the ER a second time for a “life threatening medical emergency.” (Google’s words, not mine.) (I’m okay now.) And I missed more classes. Needless to say, there were many times I genuinely didn’t believe I would be able to make it to graduation—both physically and mentally. I found myself feeling negligent and apathetic more often than not; I wanted to give up so, so badly.

But, there was one thing that kept me going. When I wanted to give up most, I had The Sentry to look forward to. In Tivoli 345, I found my home away from home. I found a place I could go and vent, cry, laugh, and everything in between. I found my people.

The Sentry, and more importantly the people of The Sentry helped me through some of the most difficult moments in my college career, which all so conveniently happened in the last few months. I don’t know if they know, but I am forever grateful to have been surrounded by a group of such wonderful, genuine people.

So, thank you. Thank you to Courtney, Taylor, Tessa, Matt, Sarai, Jeremy, and Bobby. Thank you for everything—the ice cream runs after pitch, the group chat memes, the mid-production viral video viewings—all of it. You helped me feel loved when I needed it most this past year.

And thank you to everyone else, all of the staff, writers, photographers. Even though you may not have known it, you helped get me to the finish line with your hard work and dedication. I will miss you all so much—more than you could know.