Flexing creative muscles in new ways

My name is Brigid Mullen, and I just completed my sophomore year here at Mount Holyoke College. I’m part of the class of 2025, a proud Green Griffin, and a prospective film, media, theater (FMT) major. My favorite place to study on campus is the upper floor of the Great Room in Blanchard Community Center. I love being able to people watch as I’m studying, to see students darting to and from class or heading into the Dining Commons for lunch as I’m catching up on readings or writing my latest essay.

Coming into my first year at Mount Holyoke, I was terrified. I was headed to a brand new place, hundreds of miles away from everything I had ever known. But once I got here, it was like my world turned upside down — in the best way. I hit the ground running, making friends in my orientation group, getting to know my roommate and trying desperately to find my way around campus without getting lost. After my last year and a half of high school being online due to COVID-19, it was a relief to take classes in person and get to know my classmates and professors. I attended every talk or event I saw a flier for, became an active member of the campus MassPIRG group and attended film society screenings as often as I could. I settled in for my first year away from home, but I wasn’t alone.

Flash forward to May of 2022. As I packed up my dorm room and prepared to say goodbye to Mount Holyoke for the summer, I realized just how much I would miss my little college life when I returned home. I remember walking across Pageant Green for the final time that year, having just completed the long trek from MacGregor Hall to my shift at the Frances Perk cafe in Williston Memorial Library. I couldn’t help but think about just how comfortable I had made myself and been made to feel by others at Mount Holyoke and how lucky I was to get to be a small part of a college like this.

Entering my second year at Mount Holyoke, I threw myself into my academics and extracurriculars. My classes were very much focused on the humanities, and I loved being able to flex my creative muscles. Thanks to my creative writing class, I had an excuse to set time aside specifically for writing fiction, a pastime I treasure greatly. I also had the opportunity to push myself out of my comfort zone and experiment with writing poetry for the first time. I’m really proud of my work and am even prouder of myself for having done it.

In my video production class, I was able to connect with many other FMT majors, making bonds I’m confident will last a lifetime as we all attempt to navigate the industry together. Before the end of last September, I finished my first-ever short film. I just recently finished a short documentary centered around the Mount Holyoke dance department. As with my creative writing class, I stretched myself creatively in ways I previously never thought possible. I can’t wait to see what the rest of my Mount Holyoke career has in store for me.

When I think about the reasons I am so lucky to attend Mount Holyoke, it’s the small things that come to mind: watching the leaves in the trees on Skinner Green change colors a little bit more every day as I walk to classes in the fall, frantically texting my friends to wake them up on the morning of Mountain Day, working late into the night with my fellow FMT majors to perfect an edit of our latest short film and getting a latte from the Frances Perk cafe before I settle into my homework for the day. And I wouldn’t be able to do any of it without the financial help I have received. Without the generous alum network and financial support of the Mount Holyoke community, I can confidently say that I would not be where I am today.