Capstone Essay

I have been in a college education environment for over a decade now. The journey hasn’t been a straight path, but rather a winding one - full of unexpected turns, breaks, discoveries, and profound personal growth. I’ve taken two or three years off throughout the process, but I’ve also had periods of back-to-back full course loads at both community colleges and the University of Washington, in both the Seattle and Bothell campuses. My academic story is deeply tied to my personal life; struggles with addiction, mental health challenges, neurodivergence, and, ultimately, a journey of healing and creative discovery.

After graduating from Shorecrest High School in 2014, I moved into an apartment near campus and started college while working part-time in Shoreline on the weekends. These early years of independence were also the years I was introduced to drugs and alcohol. Simultaneously, I was navigating trauma, including unresolved family issues and a stalker situation that escalated into legal action to obtain a protection order. Although I was still managing to attend classes and received good grades during most of my first year, the internal toll it was taking eventually caught up with me. I attempted suicide, which led to a weeklong stay in a hospital’s mental health ward.

That moment marked the beginning of a new chapter, one that centered around rebuilding. I moved back in with my parents and began a journey of working through trauma, healing mentally, and reshaping my habits. But healing isn’t linear. I continued to struggle with alcoholism for the next five years. Even during those years, I pushed forward with college, primarily at Shoreline Community College. It was an uphill battle, but despite everything, I earned good grades, collected transfer credits, completed two associate degrees, and obtained a certificate in videography. Each success felt hard-won. Academic achievement didn’t come from ease - it came through perseverance during deeply unstable times.

In 2020, after another hospitalization, I made the decision to enter in-patient rehab. It was one of the most difficult choices I’ve made, but one that ultimately gave me the space I needed to reset. After rehab, I spent about two years away from school. I worked in retail, focused on therapy, and tried different medications to stabilize my mental health. In this time away from formal education, I was still learning every day; about myself, my body, my limits, and my potential. Then, in 2024, something shifted again. My mother shared her belief that I might be on the autistic spectrum. Suddenly, so many aspects of my past and my personality made sense. The way I process the world, the intense sensory input I manage, the difficulty and beauty of social relationships, it all clicked into place.

Understanding my neurodivergence didn’t just bring clarity; it brought relief. It allowed me to accept parts of myself that I had long been trying to “fix.” Instead of seeing those traits as flaws, I began to understand them as different ways of experiencing reality, and in many ways, as strengths. My learning style, my creative process, my intense curiosity - all of these made more sense when viewed through the lens of autism.

One class in particular at UW Bothell truly transformed my perspective on life. In Summer 2023, I enrolled in BISSTS 355A – History of Science and Technology. The course focused on the concept of Time, and how it has been defined, measured, and understood by humans throughout history. That class cracked something open in me. It’s commonly accepted that time is either linear or cyclical, but I started to question both. I wondered: what if time is neither? What if time is a human-made construct to make sense of memories? In reality, I began to feel that time doesn’t truly exist in the way we think it does. The future hasn’t happened yet; the past no longer exists. All we really have is the present moment - a single point in space we can’t fully measure or record.

This insight changed how I think about everything. It helped lift a burden I didn’t even know I was carrying. The constant pressure to “make up for lost time” or “catch up” began to dissolve. I started focusing on now; on living in the moment with intention. Interestingly, this mental shift happened at the same time I began a new medication for depression and anxiety: Duloxetine. The two (this philosophical breakthrough and the new medication) came together to create a renewed sense of balance. Suddenly, I was managing time better, my habits improved, my workflow became more efficient, and I began to genuinely enjoy learning and working again.

With this renewed focus, I returned to my academic work with vigor, but I also began building something entirely new. In 2023, I founded Metaverse Academia, an online educational community built within virtual reality. Under my long-time online alias "Miss Molly," I created MA to help onboard individuals into the evolving world of the metaverse. I saw that many people; artists, students, hobbyists, educators - were overwhelmed by the technology and culture of virtual spaces. So I created a place where they could learn safely, creatively, and socially.

Metaverse Academia grew out of my own struggles and triumphs as a neurodivergent learner navigating complex systems. I wanted to offer others what I had often wished for: an inclusive, accessible, and interdisciplinary learning environment. At MA, I teach and host weekly creative and educational workshops inside Resonite, a powerful sandbox metaverse platform. I mentor newcomers, run collaborative building sessions, and help people gain confidence in areas like 3D modeling, digital art, world design, and presentation skills.

We have also expanded to include courses in programming, electronics, and community leadership. MA has become a space where learning is fluid, peer-driven, and joyful. It’s not a replacement for formal education - it’s a complement. A place where learning feels alive. My goal has always been to make the metaverse more accessible and less intimidating, and to show that education doesn’t have to be confined to a classroom. For many of us, especially those with disabilities or social anxieties, these virtual environments provide an invaluable alternative where voices can be heard and ideas can flourish.

Winning the Metaverse Maker Competition 2024 and receiving an honorable mention in MMC25 were important milestones, but even more valuable has been watching students and peers at MA grow, some of them creating for the first time, others rediscovering their passions. This leadership role has helped me grow immensely. I’ve become more organized, more communicative, and more compassionate. I’ve learned how to be both kind and assertive, a teacher and a collaborator.

Looking back on the past 10-11 years, it’s clear that I’ve learned much more than just academic content. I’ve learned through heartbreak, mistakes, resilience, success, and deep self-reflection. I’ve grown as a student, an artist, a teacher, a partner, and a community leader. My learning hasn’t just taken place in lecture halls - it’s happened in hospitals, retail jobs, VR meetings, courtrooms, Discord servers, and rehab centers. It’s happened in every moment I chose to keep going.

And that learning will never stop. I now see education as a mindset, not a degree. There’s no such thing as “perfect.” There’s no finish line. There’s only growth, and the ongoing practice of being curious, open-minded, and kind. I will carry the lessons I’ve learned into whatever comes next, not only for myself, but for the communities I serve and the people I love. I want to keep myself healthy and grounded, and I want to use my knowledge and experiences to help others do the same. In all that I do, I hope to lead with creativity, with clarity, and with compassion.