Reviewing a campus event for the school paper. First time feeling like I belong here.

[Palma]

I transferred here mid-year. Second semester of sophomore year. Everyone already has friends. Already knows the campus. Already has inside jokes and favorite spots. I'm just... here. Existing. Invisible.

But I joined the school newspaper. Small thing. Just to have something to do. They asked me to review a campus cultural festival. I went alone. Notebook in hand. Feeling awkward.

And then something happened. I got into it. The music. The food. The performances. People watching. I started noticing details. The way the light hit the stage. The little kid dancing in the front row. The smell of food from 10 different cultures mixing together.

I wrote the review. Poured everything into it. Submitted it. And when it came out, people I didn't know stopped me on campus. "You wrote that? It was really good." "You really captured how it felt." "Are you coming to the next event?"

For the first time since transferring, I felt like I had a place here. Like my voice mattered. Like I wasn't just the "new girl" anymore.

Anyway, just wanted to share. Sometimes the smallest things make the biggest difference. If you're a transfer feeling lost, find your thing. It might find you back.

 

[Robert]

The way you described the little kid dancing and the food smells—that's exactly why your review worked. You captured feeling, not just facts. That's real writing. That's why people connected.