Julie Van's Coming Of Age Experiences

Julie Van is a student attending the University of Washington in Seattle. She was born on October 9th, 1994 in her hometown of Tacoma, Washington where she spent her childhood doing what most children do like going to school or spending time with her family and friends. Now, she lives a typical college life. On the weekdays, Julie wakes up and attends classes and finishes her days off doing copious amounts of homework or relaxing with friends. But on the weekends, she enjoys to “hangout at nearby coffee shops or going on adventures with friends” but always puts her studies before anything else. Overall, she is a student who is very focused on her studies, but she also has had her fair share of struggles. Whether it be dealing with the loss
During her first year, she struggled with the grief of losing her grandfather who had passed away during the middle of the school year. She says, with pain taking residence in her voice that the “ passing of my grandpa during my freshman year of college was an absolute defining moment” in her life. She was just figuring out who she was as a person, and finding out that her grandfather was passing away was extremely difficult for her to get through. Even though she has known that her grandfather had been sick for a long while now, it was still a shock to her that he was actually gone. Julie forlornly stated that in that moment in made her realize that things change, and her life was changing, regardless if she was ready for it or not. She explained how she was “no longer was a child or naive teenager, protected from the realities of the adult world”, she needed to realize that what she was experiencing adult matters that she was not used to. It made Julie re-evaluate her place in life and what was really important to her. Julie grew up a lot from this experience and still continues to learn from it
She was able to change her academic struggles into an experience that taught her that perseverance and how hard work pays off in the end. She experienced homesickness and the horrendous feel of not fitting in with everyone else. Even dealing with the loss of a beloved family member. Julie faced many hardships along the way, which tested her self-confidence and abilities, but through her perseverance she found her identity, true self, and is able to show that to others with pride. These experiences helped create who she is as of now and help her realize how one moment in your life can change how you perceive