A Letter from a Graduate: Go Live Your Story
By Grace Chai
Content
When I first arrived at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, I was uncertain about many things, but I knew one thing for certain: I loved writing, and I wanted to be a storyteller.
I spent my early childhood years growing up next to the public library, where I begged my parents to take me at least once a week. I remember the smell of the books and the satisfying beep as each book was scanned and placed into a bag. Insisting I could carry them all, I got adept at playing Tetris by stacking over 20 books into a single bag and dragging it behind me — only to get distracted by the glossy covers of new books on display.
Entering the library was a ritual, one I took so seriously that my dad had to remind me when I only had a 30-minute window to look at books.
To this day, libraries are places of comfort for me.
Books contained stories, which were a way for me to escape the real world and enter a fantastical one. I scribbled many tales of my own in notebooks, dreaming up characters and jotting down plotlines in the margins of the wide-ruled pages. This love of writing led me to the school newspaper in high school and eventually, my major in college: journalism.
Through writing articles, I realized that there are so many ways one can tell stories.
Article writing can feel like putting pieces of a puzzle together, stitching together quotes and context like a fiber artist might merge two different colors of yarn. It can feel extremely frustrating, but it is also so rewarding to produce something that brings people back to a moment they may not have experienced.
It’s incredible that words can do that.
I was able to pursue storytelling at UMass through my journalism courses, my sociology courses, and surprisingly, many of the gen-eds I ended up taking. I explored storytelling through photography, videography, and graphic design for Commonwealth Honors College, and in my own free time. I wrote for the Massachusetts Daily Collegian and met some of my closest friends, who inspire me to continue writing and searching for a story.
Throughout my time writing for Commonwealth Honors College, I’ve brought people back to the feeling of dancing amidst the vibrant fall foliage, introduced them to professors, shared my favorite things to do on campus, and taken them thousands of miles away through telling the stories of students’ study abroad experiences.
Beyond writing, I’ve taken thousands of photos that tell the story of what it’s like to go to UMass and capture the community that is woven through all aspects of CHC. I’ve even dabbled in social media content creation and reached more people than I thought possible, which is amazing.
I’m so excited to continue telling narratives after graduation, because even as I’ve learned different ways to communicate a storyline, the core of storytelling remains the same: to impact people, make them think, make them feel something.
If you’re looking for a sign to pursue that passion that’s bottled up inside, the thing that you just can’t stop thinking about, now is the time to full send it. As a fresh college graduate, I can say that my last semester at UMass was one of the best I’ve had because I said yes. Yes to new adventures, yes to pitching ideas, yes to telling stories and building confidence in my ability to tell them.
So, to echo my bucket list article from the beginning of the year, go out and fly, my little campus goslings! Go live your story!
Featuring
Grace Chai
