Anonymous

Photographed by Brendan Stephens

If you’re reading this, I hope you take a second to breathe.

Not the kind of breath that just keeps you alive, but the kind that slows down the noise for a moment and lets you actually feel where you are.

Because if you’re anything like me, you’ve been moving fast, chasing grades, chasing goals, chasing some version of yourself you hope will finally feel like “enough.” And maybe you haven’t paused in a while to notice that the person you’ve become is already someone younger you would’ve looked up to.

At VCU, life moves quickly, very different from the rural town I’m from. Between classes, late nights in the library, hospital volunteer shifts, and trying to hold together friendships that mean the world, it’s easy to forget that this chapter, right now, is part of the story. Not the waiting room for the future, but the life you’ll look back on one day and miss.

If you are reading this, please know that it’s okay not to have everything figured out. You don’t have to know exactly where you’re headed, you just have to keep showing up, keep being kind, and keep choosing to care, even when it feels like the world rewards indifference.

Some days in Richmond feel electric, full of laughter, energy, and bliss. Other days feel heavy, like you’re walking through fog, just trying to make it to tomorrow. Both are real. Both are part of growing. Both mean you’re still here, and that’s something to be proud of.

If you are reading this, I hope you hold onto the small moments that make you feel alive: the walk back from class at sunset, the late-night talks with friends, the feeling of doing something that matters, even if no one else sees it. Those are the things that last.

If you are reading this, thank you, for being here, for trying, for caring in your own quiet way. The world needs more of that.

Anonymous, Virginia Commonwealth University

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