Today’s post is going to be a little different. I am going to talk a little bit more about myself than I normally do. I realize that a large portion of my subscribers/followers are people that I have never had the pleasure of actually meeting. First of all, thank you for taking an interest in my life! I am genuinely so happy to have you here. For the people that follow who do know me personally, I am equally as happy that you have invested interest into my life and MG Personally! You guys have taken the time to read what I write, send me messages of encouragement, and invest your attention to MGP, and I am so grateful for you. I hope this post lets you get to know me a little bit more “personally.”

Right now I am halfway through my junior year of college. If you would have asked me when I was in high school what I wanted to do with my life, I would have probably told you something entirely different than where I am now. That’s okay though. That is what college is for, right? Here’s what you need to know about me: I am passionate about too many things. That has made my life equally stressful and exciting. It is hard to nail down where I would like to be in 5 or 10 years because there are too many things I want to do.

When I entered college, I was a full year ahead in credits. My younger self was not as open to new paths as my current self is. I was focused on getting there, getting a degree with as little debt as possible, and getting out. Growing up, I loved biology, and I was good at it too. Specifically, I had a passion for developmental biology. In high school my plan was to go to college, study biology, continue on the med-track, and make a lot of moo-lah (money for all the plain Janes who don’t know what moo-lah means). In my brain medicine=money. I mean, I wasn’t wrong about that, but in my head, since I was good at biology and liked medicine, I HAD to do something medical. I did some research, found out about genetic counselors, and bam, I was sold.

For those of you that don’t know me, I like to have a plan. Don’t get me wrong, I love a spontaneous adventure, but when it comes to long-term life goals, I like to have every step of that path mapped out. Starting a whole year ahead in college means you need to plan quickly. In the first two months of college I had declared my major, chosen an advisor, and met with the registrar to make sure that I could feasibly complete my degree in the three year time slot. I was given the green light and got to work.

Freshman year Madeline and current Madeline are two wildly different people. I spent my freshman year with my head down, my circle small, and my priorities in order, or so I thought. I cared about school and running. That was it. I had heard about Greek-Life on campus, but decided it was probably not my cup of tea. My school rushes during January. By November, all of my floor-mates were signed up and beyond excited to get the opportunity to join a sorority. Me? I was not interested. On the last day that you could sign up, one of my friends convinced me to try it, or at least go through the rushing process. What was the worst that could happen? I could go through it and if I didn’t like it, I could stop rushing anytime. Plus, I got a free t-shirt. So what the heck? I signed up, and narrowly made the window before it closed.

I went through all of recruitment, got a bid from Chi Omega, and decided to give it a shot. I am not going to lie, it was very intimidating at first. I was walking into a sisterhood where most girls already knew everyone. They had been to recruitment parties, had friends there, and were familiar with the house. I had never gone to a recruitment party, only knew one girl because she was on my cross country team, and had never even been inside the house before. Much to my surprise, I was welcomed with open arms. I quickly developed friendships, found girls that were more like me than I thought, and slowly my circle was expanding.

When I came back to school my second year, I was beginning to realize that maybe there is more to college than just studying and running. I was finally starting to recognize how great my school actually was. The idea of being a junior in college as I was just starting to understand how much my school had to offer was a bit overwhelming. I started to realize that I wasn’t as ready to enter adulthood as I thought. There were still more experiences to be had, people to meet, and memories to make. So, after a a few stressful conversations, a lot of deliberation, and many calls to my mom and dad, I decided not to graduate a year early. I would complete all four years of college, and soak up my time there.

Later in my sophomore year I became the new secretary for Chi Omega. I loved having the time to establish roots, hold leadership positions, and get involved, rather than just pedal-to-the-metal gunning to get out of there. Just over halfway through my sophomore year Covid struck. Everyone was sent home and spent what seemed like an eternity in quarantine. Socially, I hated it. Growth-wise, I think it was one of the best things for me. Quarantine made me sit down and evaluate what was important to me out of sheer boredom. Literally, one day I was like “hmm what should I do today? Maybe I should establish a life plan, and figure out what the heck I’m doing. I mean I have already watched every single new show on Netflix nine times, so what else am I going to do?” Hahaha maybe it wasn’t exactly like that, but something along those lines really did happen.

Up until that point, I was still planning on pursing a career as a genetic counselor. Over time, I was starting to realize that I was good at more than just biology. I also had more passions than just medicine. I started by making a list of things that would make me happy. Here’s what I came up with:

1. Teach sign language in impoverished countries.
2. Join the Peace Corps.
3. Design habitats.
4. Work as an interior designer.
5. Travel the world and write people’s stories.

I don’t know if any of you guys noticed, but working in a lab or clinical setting did not make the cut in my top five. That alone made me realize I needed to take a step back and evaluate what I wanted my life to look like. In a panic, I emailed my advisor and one of my previous design professors (with whom I had only taken one course) telling them I thought I was headed in the wrong direction. I was terrified that I was halfway through my college career and could be headed down the wrong path. Wisely, they all told me not to abandon all my work that I had put into my biology degree. Together we decided a good alternative plan would be to pick up two minors; one in communication and the other in design. Yep. I am a walking picture of the liberal arts experience. I will have a major in biology, and minors in both design and communication. What kinda mashup is that? Well, that is me.

I have always loved to write, and have loved to do art and design. I was the weirdo who actually enjoyed writing essays and papers. Previously, I just didn’t think those career paths were feasible for me. I had been stressed for so long because I loved too many things. How was I supposed to pick? Too many life options would make me happy. Part of me wants a stable life where I establish a medical career, get married, buy a house, have kids, and move to the suburbs. Another part of me thinks it would be absofreakingamazing (dibs on coining that term) to live in a van, explore wherever I want and live modestly. Another part of me wants to travel the world, meet people from all corners of the earth, and share their stories and experiences.

Moral of the story is that there were so many paths that I genuinely think could make me happy. I saw having multiple happily ever after scenarios as being an obstacle. That is not a bad thing. That is a gift. How lucky am I that I have many paths that lead me to happily ever after? I thought that having many passions was a sign of instability, and indecisiveness, when really it is one of my strengths. There are so many things that I love. Who is to say that having so many passions can’t be an asset rather than an obstacle?

If you want to know where I am at right now, I am pursuing my degree, taking in the memories, and trying to be okay with the fact that I don’t have every detail planned out. Growth is an amazing thing. Being pushed outside your comfort zone is so valuable. There are many people to thank for helping me grow. I thank my family for making it okay not to be okay sometimes. I thank Carlos for cheering with me in my success and grounding me when I am stressed. I thank my best friends for supporting me in all my adventures. I thank my school for employing professors that care about their students on more than just an academic level. I thank Chi Omega for offering me a support system I never knew I needed.

If you need a picture of transformation, to be encouraged that greater things are coming, here I am . Two years ago I hid in my shell, didn’t take time to invest in a social life, friendships, or leadership positions. Today, there are more people on campus that I do know than I don’t. I have amazing friendships that I will carry with me my entire life. I am the incoming president for a sorority that, two years ago, I had no intentions of joining. I am surrounded by empowered women who choose to work together, build one another up, and celebrate each other’s successes. I am confident in who I am and what I have to offer.

I am not perfect. I don’t pretend to be, and I never will be. These last two years have been transformational. I have learned to embrace new journeys, enjoy where I am at, and appreciate the people who got me here. It wasn’t a smooth journey, and it is far from being over, but it is awesome. Here I am. This is me. For all of you who don’t know me, well you do now. For all of you who do, thank you for the role you play in my life. From strangers to siblings and everyone in between, I am grateful for you all.