Growing Into Ourselves
By: Hailey Wirth
Photographers | Nicoletta Amato, Torie Palumbo, Brooke Wainwright, and Adam Fields
Mary Rosenstein, PR Student Director
Photographed by | Stella Shortino
As graduation approaches, many of us have been circling the thought of how much personal change we’ve experienced since we first arrived here at Marist. The most crucial shift, instead of the rather pleasing ones – fostering new friendships, creating new memories and experiences, but something more. It’s facing the truth of the version of who we were, who we imagined ourselves as, might necessarily not be the one we have grown to be.
The photograph in our heads could include an array of things. Participating in a sport, taking part in Greek Life, or becoming the best version of ourselves overnight with a Pinterest board to catapult it. But growing isn’t something that’s chosen or dictated; it’s something that’s inevitable and frequent. It creeps in quietly, seeping through uncomfortable moments, feeling like the person underneath the watchers' expectations.
Jillian Antretter, Digital Media Student Director
Photographed by | Ava Battineli
Freshman year is filled with the pressure to have everything figured out quickly: the right friends, the right major, the right routine, the right image. This kind of expectation can make you feel like everyone else understands who they are while you are still trying to catch up. But somewhere between late-night conversations, failed friendships, stressful semesters, internships, and moments of burnout something begins to shift.
To really understand growth, we have to look back on who we were before college because that person was still trying to figure out who they were allowed to be. A lot of people go into college trying to be a version of themselves they think other people will approve of. Confidence feels performative. Perfection feels necessary. Even personal style can feel more reflective of trends and expectation rather than individuality.
Samantha Swidler, Fashion Student Director
Photographed by | Adam Fields
What’s interesting about growth is that it doesn’t happen all at once. It’s not some big moment where everything clicks. It’s a series of small, uncomfortable moments that you didn’t realize were shaping you until much later. It could be presenting in front of class and realizing afterwords you didn’t have that anxious feeling in your chest. Realizing a friendship no longer fits who you’re becoming.
Learning how to be alone without feeling lonely. Realizing that when things don’t work out as planned then it wasn’t meant for you. Whatever those moments were for you, they slowly changed the way you move through the world. Decisions become less dependent on reassurance from other people. There’s less comparison to everyone around you. Over time instinct becomes louder than outside opinions.
Olivia Kittleman, Editor and Chief Student Director
Photographed by | Maria Plioutas
Maybe, instead of having everything figured out, learning how to trust yourself even when you don’t is one of the biggest lessons to learn. Senior year brings a sense of clarity. There’s no more need for constant approval from professors, peers, social media or even from unrealistic expectations created freshman year that no longer align with us. Growth becomes quieter. It's less about proving something and more about feeling comfortable in the uncomfortable. For some people that change even shows outwardly.
Personal style becomes less about dressing for attention and more about dressing like yourself. Habits change. Priorities shift. Confidence stops looking loud and starts looking steady. There’s comfort in no longer feeling the need to perform a version of yourself that never fully fit in in the first place.
Sofia Sarzosa, Social Media Student Director
Photographed by | Caitlin Morales
As this chapter comes to an end, instead of thinking about what you’re achieving, start thinking about what you’re carrying with you into whatever comes next. Values instead of achievements. Confidence instead of certainty. A stronger sense of identity. Graduation doesn’t necessarily feel like having everything figured out.
Instead, it feels like finally trusting yourself enough to move forward without needing all the answers first. And maybe that’s the biggest thing college gave us. Not just lifelong friendships or unforgettable memories, but the space to become people we finally recognize.
