My Reflection of my time at Spelman College

This past summer I was at Spelman College for the Early College Program in order to gain college credit in English and Biology. During my experience at Spelman while I grew academically, I also grew socially. I learned to be more optimistic and I became more willing to learn from others. Spelman taught me sisterhood and friendship and as a result I became comfortable with who I was.  Each young lady that I was with over the summer, all had a similar background to me, coming from a PWI (predominantly white institution) and had very few black friends who were equally serious about education. We all had a story to tell about our lives and through our RA’s we became more optimistic people. I was pushed outside of my comfort zone, being away from home, far away from my parents and the comfort of familiarity, helped me develop the assurance and confidence to know that I could live on my own. I appreciated my parents for all that they taught me about learning to get along with others, making sure I had good study habits, and learning how to budget and manage my finances. These were all things that some of my fellow sisters did not know when they came to Spelman.

We went on different excursions over the summer and some of our transportation was through the Marta Transportation System. As a girl who has lived in the south my entire life, Atlanta was the first place that I truly learned my way around the city, and was comfortable with public transportation. This taught me how to walk with confidence, so that I can keep myself safe and to be aware of my surroundings at all times.  All of my RA’s at Spelman taught me that it is possible to be an educated African American woman in this world and get respect. There were nights when a lot of my sisters would come to my dorm room and we would sit down and talk about life playing Lauryn Hill, Jill Scott and Beyoncé in the background.  Our RA’s would come and help us with our hair and they would talk about their college experiences and the time would become like a big sister to little sister experience. Spelman was a nurturing environment and was the most perfect time for me to go and learn about myself. I truly found who I was and my place in this world. The sisterhood experience at Spelman helped me love the person that I am today.