Category: Arianna

Arianna: Overcoming Impostor Syndrome

As a senior graduating this May, one of the most challenging aspects of my BU career has been overcoming impostor syndrome. Impostor syndrome is defined as “a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a ‘fraud.’” For me, it essentially means that a lot of the time, my achievements don’t feel like “real” achievements, and that I tend to undervalue my accomplishments and hard work.

Some of the greatest attributes I’ve found most, if not all, of my COM peers tend to possess are a driven, hardworking nature combined with creativity and passion. COM students are imaginative and intelligent, but we are also willing to put in the work to achieve our goals. It is so inspiring and beneficial to be constantly surrounded by hardworking, talented fellow students, but at times, it can be challenging: sometimes my own achievements get lost in a sea of comparison to fellow students.

Over the years, I have found these to be helpful reminders:

  1. Don’t compare your “behind-the-scenes” to someone else’s highlight reel.
  2. Behind every “flex” there’s probably a lot of hard work, stress, and a few failures along the way.
  3. There is always room for improvement and growth. Don’t let that stop you from being proud of what you have achieved.

At the end of the day, success means different things for different people, and it’s important to view your achievements in the context of your own personal goals, rather than to stack them up and compare them to those of others. When you’re reflecting on your accomplishments, don’t compare them to those of your friends and classmates. Look at them through the lens of your own interests, goals, and the work you put in to get where you are.

With Love,

Arianna <3

Arianna: So You Went to Splash…Now What?

If you’re anything like I was as a freshman, your BU inbox is probably (and hopefully) cluttered with emails you signed up for during Splash this weekend. You may have signed up for a couple of them just to win a free T-shirt, and some you might’ve just put your email down because your friends or roommate did. I remember being pretty overwhelmed at my first Splash, because there are so many different clubs and organizations out there, and all of them are trying to get your attention. At the end of the day, the idea of narrowing everything down to a very small handful of clubs can be very daunting.

Unfortunately for me, I actually only ended up going to a few of the meetings, and didn’t really stick with any clubs my first semester. In the thick of everything, that actually didn’t occur to me--I signed up for BUTV10 and went to the trainings, but I only sporadically showed up to shoots after the training ended. I was afraid of over-committing my time, and ended up with such an excess of free time that I ran out of things to do almost constantly. The tricky thing is, it’s very difficult, if not impossible, to get involved with clubs after the initial buzzing of the start of the semester wears off, because most organizations are in a routine by October.

Thankfully, at the beginning of the spring semester each year, BU hosts a Winter Activities Fair. I attended by myself, being the only person in my friend group who really needed to go. I signed up for WTBU and a volunteer group with the Community Service Center, and from my initial sign-up for WTBU stemmed an opportunity to write for The Beat, WTBU’s zine. Suddenly, my semester was filled with weekly meetings and opportunities to do stuff outside of class, and meet a ton of great people. My freshman spring was leaps and bounds better than my freshman fall, and I fully attribute that to the fact that I was more involved at BU.

Starting with that semester and throughout my sophomore year, I tried out a lot of different clubs and organizations, learned so much, and felt so much more content and fulfilled at BU, then during my junior year, I fully settled into BU On Broadway, joined BUTV10’s Bay State as a writer, and have stayed involved in the Community Service Center by doing FYSOP as a staff leader and going on an ASB trip. Because of my extracurriculars, I feel so much more passionate, driven, and capable, and I bring that into the classroom, which has helped me grow academically.

Long story short, even if you somehow ended up only signing up for 3 mailing lists, make sure you get to those general meetings and ask around about what your friends, classmates, or floormates are involved in and see if you can tag alone. I promise it will make all the difference in your first year, and the sooner you get involved, the sooner you will discover your greatest passions and meet your favorite people.

Have a great semester,

Arianna <3 

Arianna: Intersecting your Major with your Passions

Throughout my time in college, I’ve found that it can be difficult to figure out your exact career path, especially as a COM student, because there are so many different directions you could go in. Thankfully, coming into second semester of my junior year, I finally have it (almost) figured out.

The two best pieces of career advice I’ve ever gotten are:

1) “Do what you love, but prioritize what you love AND are good at, because if you pursue something you love but aren’t great at, you might grow to resent it. On the other hand, if you do something you’re good at, you’ll end up loving it no matter what.”

2) “Whatever you do, try to find a way to intersect your major and your greatest passion.”

As a Film and TV major, I’ve found it hard to narrow down my career goals. I love screenwriting, but I also enjoy production, even if it’s not something that comes as naturally to me as writing. After more than 2 years of trying to balance both, I have fully embraced my ability to write well and my passion for doing so. Here's an actual candid pic of me working on a screenwriting assignment:

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Meanwhile, through BU’s Community Service Center and my work study job at the BU Children’s Center, I’ve fallen in love with social justice and working with children. By participating in FYSOP (First Year Student Outreach Project) as a first year and as a staff leader, I've learned a lot about social justice, and try to incorporate what I’ve learned into my writing.

Additionally, through working at the Children’s Center, I have learned more about childhood development and my love for working with children has grown so much! I was lucky enough to spend a summer working at a day camp for children and creating a video for the company to showcase the program, which made me realize there is always room to connect working with children to working in the film industry.

It clicked that one of the best ways to cross-over all of these interests was to write for children’s television. Writing programming that is educational, inclusive of diverse backgrounds, and mindful of childhood development is something I have the knowledge, skills, and passion for, and with this career goal in mind, I can finish my last 3 semesters of college confident that I am pursuing something I will love.

As you continue your journey as a COM student (or in whatever major you choose), keep your passions in mind, and keep searching for ways to connect them to what you’re studying! Once you figure out a way to combine what you’re passionate about with your career goals, you’ll feel so much more confident and driven to achieve those goals, and have more fun doing it.

With Love,

Arianna