Erika Cohen Derr
Photography by Sophie McDowall
If you’re reading this, trust yourself.
Doubt will be part of the process. Every commitment comes with a side order of doubt, and your decision to be a Hoya is probably one of the first big commitments you made in life. Trust that you have everything you need to chart your path and to discover new ways forward, and surprise yourself in the months and years to come.
You may find yourself doubting your decision to come to Georgetown. Doubting your choice of a major. Doubting your intended career path. Doubting your plans for the weekend, and wondering if that says something about you. Doubting whether you should stick with your hometown romance. Doubting if you can forgive your roommate for drinking your stash of Celsius. Doubting that you’ll ever feel about this place the way that you feel about home. Sometimes it may seem that all you have is doubts -- they multiply like spotted lanternflies -- but know that the antidote to doubt is to trust in yourself.
I’ve been lucky enough to know many Hoyas in my years at Georgetown, students who took on responsibilities and leadership roles to create community and the vibrant campus life that we all enjoy. In getting to know each other, we shared stories of how we came to be here, what we hoped to learn, and the good we wanted to pursue. Almost inevitably, each person I talked to would say, “You know, I thought about transferring …” and reflect on why they ended up committing to stay at Georgetown despite the doubt, frustration, and uncertainty they were feeling. I’ve heard this phrase from students who are first in their family to go to college, and students whose sibling/parent/cousin/fill-in-the-blank were Georgetown alums, bleeding blue and gray since before they could remember. This type of doubt doesn’t discriminate - it can creep into the cracks in your sense of self regardless of what you study, where you’re from, or who you hang out with. If you’re feeling this type of doubt, you are in great company with thousands of Hoyas who have gone before you.
In the face of doubt, trust yourself. Trust IN yourself. Trust that you are prepared for the uncertainty and have the capacity to keep moving forward along your path. It may help to find ways to “reset” yourself - read a favorite book, play the game or sport that you’ve always loved playing, talk to someone who’s known you for a while. Seek spiritual insight. Talk to someone new who sees you as you are today. Remind yourself who you are, and trust that you are expanding in such a way that will outgrow your current doubt. Trust that if you need a sounding board, a distraction, or a gut-check, Georgetown can provide one. Trust that a week or a month or a year or many years in the future, this particular doubt will reveal itself as the fuel for your curiosity and your continued trust in yourself.
Georgetown is better because you’re here. That’s a truth beyond any doubt.
Erika Cohen Derr, DLS, Georgetown University
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