{"id":44066,"date":"2018-05-03T15:49:08","date_gmt":"2018-05-03T19:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/?p=44066"},"modified":"2018-05-03T15:53:36","modified_gmt":"2018-05-03T19:53:36","slug":"the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/","title":{"rendered":"The Beginning of a New Chapter"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>By Jen Monroe &#8217;18, University of Mary Washington business major<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I can\u2019t believe I\u2019m almost done with college.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2018\/05\/newchapter.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-44067\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2018\/05\/newchapter-300x300.png\" alt=\"flowers in the background. Reads Starting a New Chapter.\" width=\"238\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2018\/05\/newchapter-300x300.png 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2018\/05\/newchapter-150x150.png 150w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2018\/05\/newchapter-50x50.png 50w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2018\/05\/newchapter-75x75.png 75w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2018\/05\/newchapter.png 750w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 238px) 100vw, 238px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The clock is ticking away.<\/p>\n<p>The nerves start to set in.<\/p>\n<p>And I realize that in less than two weeks I will set foot on-stage and accept my diploma; my college degree and become an alumna of the University of Mary Washington.<\/p>\n<p>At this point in my life, I think back to every time I transitioned to a new chapter. I laugh a little. I can remember feeling as if each moment seemed like it was the end of the world. Any positive moment, any obstacle I faced then has shaped me to be who I am now and who I am determined to become.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>So, what\u2019s next? \u2013 The beginning of a new chapter.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes it is incredibly hard to say goodbye to one chapter to make room for another one. Whether they come along every few months or every few years, our life stories are filled with these moments. And each time we begin a new chapter, we are given an opportunity to start fresh, see things in a different way, and make our life turn out the way we want it to.<\/p>\n<p>Many of us find it difficult to move on because of an inability to let go of the ways things were. It may feel impossible to say goodbye to one chapter. But also, impossible to not say hello to a new one. At the end of the day, you have sit down and ask yourself what is important to you. Are you making excuses for yourself because you\u2019re afraid? What are the pros? What are the cons? What can you learn? What are your risks? Is this affecting anyone else in your life?<\/p>\n<p>Through my coursework, I learned a lot about accepting change, accepting fear of the unknown and embracing uncomfortable situations. I can whole heartedly say that I\u00a0<u>used<\/u>\u00a0to be an individual who absolutely hated change. I enjoyed doing things my way and I enjoyed my scheduled routine. I learned that great leaders put themselves in uncomfortable situations so that they can take advantage of the opportunity to learn and grow. I learned that \u201cto live is to experience failure.\u201d I was able to identify the benefits and positive outcomes that come with change. And I learned that along the way it is okay to make mistakes because that\u2019s where all my learning opportunities will come from.<\/p>\n<p>My mom taught me so many things growing up: how to respect not only myself but others, how to cook, how to be a good person and how to give back. But, the biggest lesson she has taught me is the value of a great work ethic.<\/p>\n<p>When you grow up with a mother who works hard, it inspires you. It teaches you to lead by example. It teaches you a fundamental life lesson: you can achieve anything you want to. My supermom is the mother to not only me, but my triplet siblings. She has worked her entire life and has worked even harder to take care of her family. By watching my mom work as hard as she did, I developed the ultimate work ethic, commitment and desire to achieve and excel.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re smart, honest and hard-working, you can choose any career path you want. And as a female soon entering the business world, I look forward to supporting women at all levels of an organization.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Jen Monroe &#8217;18, University of Mary Washington business major I can\u2019t believe I\u2019m almost done with college. The clock is ticking away. The nerves start to set in. And I realize that in less than two weeks I will set foot on-stage and accept my diploma; my college degree and become an alumna of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":44067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"sidebar-content","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-44066","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-blog","8":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.9 (Yoast SEO v26.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Beginning of a New Chapter - Leadership Colloquium at UMW<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Beginning of a New Chapter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Jen Monroe &#8217;18, University of Mary Washington business major I can\u2019t believe I\u2019m almost done with college. The clock is ticking away. The nerves start to set in. And I realize that in less than two weeks I will set foot on-stage and accept my diploma; my college degree and become an alumna of [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Leadership Colloquium at UMW\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-05-03T19:49:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-05-03T19:53:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2018\/05\/newchapter.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"752\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andrea Cordray\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andrea Cordray\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Andrea Cordray\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/#\/schema\/person\/d5dd706e365b40de51655d8168964a17\"},\"headline\":\"The Beginning of a New Chapter\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-03T19:49:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-03T19:53:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/\"},\"wordCount\":591,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2018\/05\/newchapter.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/\",\"name\":\"The Beginning of a New Chapter - Leadership Colloquium at UMW\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2018\/05\/newchapter.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-03T19:49:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-03T19:53:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/#\/schema\/person\/d5dd706e365b40de51655d8168964a17\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2018\/05\/newchapter.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2018\/05\/newchapter.png\",\"width\":750,\"height\":752,\"caption\":\"flowers in the background. Reads Starting a New Chapter.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Beginning of a New Chapter\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/\",\"name\":\"Leadership Colloquium at UMW\",\"description\":\"University of Mary Washington\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/#\/schema\/person\/d5dd706e365b40de51655d8168964a17\",\"name\":\"Andrea Cordray\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/86da089c8c4b72d14f12795d7eee0f34f9fee06448505d6bc1aad2a71e9a9cd0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/86da089c8c4b72d14f12795d7eee0f34f9fee06448505d6bc1aad2a71e9a9cd0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Andrea Cordray\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/author\/acordray\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Beginning of a New Chapter - Leadership Colloquium at UMW","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Beginning of a New Chapter","og_description":"By Jen Monroe &#8217;18, University of Mary Washington business major I can\u2019t believe I\u2019m almost done with college. The clock is ticking away. The nerves start to set in. And I realize that in less than two weeks I will set foot on-stage and accept my diploma; my college degree and become an alumna of [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/","og_site_name":"Leadership Colloquium at UMW","article_published_time":"2018-05-03T19:49:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-05-03T19:53:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":750,"height":752,"url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2018\/05\/newchapter.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Andrea Cordray","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Andrea Cordray","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/"},"author":{"name":"Andrea Cordray","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/#\/schema\/person\/d5dd706e365b40de51655d8168964a17"},"headline":"The Beginning of a New Chapter","datePublished":"2018-05-03T19:49:08+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-03T19:53:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/"},"wordCount":591,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2018\/05\/newchapter.png","articleSection":["blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/","url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/","name":"The Beginning of a New Chapter - Leadership Colloquium at UMW","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2018\/05\/newchapter.png","datePublished":"2018-05-03T19:49:08+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-03T19:53:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/#\/schema\/person\/d5dd706e365b40de51655d8168964a17"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2018\/05\/newchapter.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2018\/05\/newchapter.png","width":750,"height":752,"caption":"flowers in the background. Reads Starting a New Chapter."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/2018\/05\/03\/the-beginning-of-a-new-chapter\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Beginning of a New Chapter"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/","name":"Leadership Colloquium at UMW","description":"University of Mary Washington","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/#\/schema\/person\/d5dd706e365b40de51655d8168964a17","name":"Andrea Cordray","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/86da089c8c4b72d14f12795d7eee0f34f9fee06448505d6bc1aad2a71e9a9cd0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/86da089c8c4b72d14f12795d7eee0f34f9fee06448505d6bc1aad2a71e9a9cd0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Andrea Cordray"},"url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/author\/acordray\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2018\/05\/newchapter.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/lcpw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}