People are talking about safe spaces as though they're an unrealistic isolation from the difficulties of the real world, a concession to political correctness for its own sake. But Wellesley is a place where people can take a break from the way this world silences and impedes - not to relax, but to grow unhindered. I left Wellesley much better prepared to compete with people who had more advantages than I did, to relate with men and with people of color, to think critically about the world and the way it related to me, and to look at challenges with confidence. Now, I'm living a life I want, because at Wellesley I overcame the many challenges that would have prevented me from being as happy as I am today.