I know it hurts when others can’t see how hard you’re trying to claw your way out of the pit that your worst days drag you to. It’s a kind of hurt that makes your heart ache, your hands cold, and your eyes overflow. It’s a kind of hurt that makes you want to give up.

Getting to where you want to be may seem like a pointless journey down a long and winding road, but it is one worth traveling. And you, sweet reader, are worth everything.

I have stood on the same shaky ground you cling to. I have been exactly where you are now. I have been bruised. I have been beaten down. Despite this, I have grown, and so can you.

These feelings will pass and you can find a way to be happy again. When things get too hard, or you’re feeling alone, I want you to always remember that you are enough. You are the one that has carried yourself through your worst days. You have picked yourself back up. You have wiped your own tears. You have been your own hero, and that takes a tremendous amount of strength.

You will flourish into the person you want to be. You will grow no matter the weather. Through rain or shine, you will survive.

You are a force of nature. Although you may feel as delicate as a flower, there is beauty in the way you wither. In order to find out who you are, you must let old petals fall away and let new ones take their place. You will lose friends. You will have your heart broken. You will face challenges that seem impossible to conquer; but you will make it through still standing.

You have, you can, and you will. 

Sitting in the airport awaiting my 5’o’clock flight I was anxious, nervous, and totally unaware of the adventure about to take place. I arrived in Florence unsure. Unsure about what I was doing, unsure about spending 4 months in a foreign country without my closest people, unsure about my relationships and myself.  

It took me a while to realize I had this giant opportunity at my feet and it was up to me and me alone to make it either the greatest lesson of all time or a measly, elongated vacation. I chose the first.

Stumbling through cobble-stoned streets in my worn out converse under lines of laundry and open windows, I found myself.

I found a home in a dated apartment with 7 other girls all on the same journey. At nights, I planned my weekends away, filling my calendar with trips to places I had no idea would leave such an impact on me. I met the most wonderful people and experienced first-hand the most beautiful cultures. Strangers taught me more about life than my entire school curriculum ever has. (But I promise I still learned school things mom and dad.)

However, every day wasn’t picture perfect like it was portrayed via social media. I experienced some of my toughest battles while abroad, and being thousands of miles away from my support system was not ideal then. But that’s when I learned the most.

Time and conflict are not compatible. Life doesn’t throw you your toughest days when it’s convenient for you. It was then that I learned how strong I really am. I learned that I couldn’t control other people, but I could control how I let them affect me. So I refused to let the bad ones get to me, not when I was surrounded by so much beauty and opportunity.

I had the opportunity to waste my days abroad in a fumbled mess trying to put back the pieces of something so broken, but instead I chose to build something new.

I convinced myself that there was something so good to be seen in every single day, I just had to go find it. Whether it was something big like riding ATV’s along the coast of Santorini, or just eating a really awesome Panini, it was there, and it was important. My mind and my heart were stretched to new lengths. I found new wonders and treasures I will cherish forever, like my hideaway church on top of a lonely hill in Italy, or that hole in the wall restaurant where the owners know you by name.  So sitting here throwing out my worn out shoes, I’m actually proud. I’m so proud of the places they took me and the memories made in them.

It came and went faster than it should have. There were so many pictures taken and “storage too full notifications”, so many 40 euro flights I wasn’t convinced were going to ever reach the ground again, and so, so many new friends and new memories that would be showcased on social media, but would never actually reveal the true depth of the moment. Many feelings came to play throughout my months, but the one I found most consistent was gratitude. Every day, I thank my lucky stars that I had this opportunity to see the moon from a new side of the world, to fulfill a part of me that’s been missing for a while, I just had to go find it.

I’ll never truly be able to properly put into words how much this experience meant to me, but if I tried to sum it up I’d do it with my favorite over-used quote of the trip:

“This just doesn’t do it justice.”

The story of our company, VentureStorm, dates back to winter break sophomore year – and it’s been quite the experience to say the least.

I really want to share the ride we’ve been on these past few years. There have been plenty of struggles, success, and everything in between; but by the time you’re done reading this, I hope I’ve inspired you to at least attempt something outside the status quo and to accomplish something magnificent.

The Ambition

I guess I’ll start with that – the desire to be different and not just follow the norm. There’s something that never made sense to me about dedicating nearly two decades of your life on education, only to utilize your knowledge and expertise by working for someone else and growing their wealth. That’s one of my inspirations behind both wanting to be an entrepreneur and growing VentureStorm (but we’ll get to that in a minute). Being an entrepreneur, there are no ceilings. Being an entrepreneur allows you to take something you are passionate about and build a business around it, innovate an industry or product, and hopefully change the world. Of course there’s the realization of risk and failure, but if you’re a young student without a spouse and kids, without a mortgage, without anything to lose – does the risk really outweigh the possible rewards?

The Seed

The story all begins a few years back while taking an online entrepreneurship course over winter break. We came up with an awesome concept for a music discovery mobile app, and the passion behind the idea really began to grow. We ended up writing an extensive business plan, creating screenshots, and buying the web domain as we began to seriously pursue the venture; however, none of us had experience in developing a mobile application at the time, and our motivation began to wither.

We spent months exhausting our networks for a viable developer to work on our app with little to no success. Being involved with several entrepreneurship programs at the University of Maryland, we witnessed countless other aspiring entrepreneurs fail to bring their idea to life due to a lack of technical skills as well. There is an abundance of entrepreneurs with great ideas and distinguished backgrounds in business, marketing, psychology, etc.; however, often times they lack the necessary programming and development skills to bring their venture to life.

There is also an abundance of talented student developers hungry to build astonishing mobile and web applications – but the disconnect between the two parties is bewildering.

The Vision

VentureStorm is a web application that connects aspiring entrepreneurs to talented student developers within proximity. Think of it as a combination between a freelance marketplace and matchmaking site to find a technical co-founder (if that’s what you’re looking for). Our platform allows entrepreneurs in need of technical assistance to post their project or current venture free of charge, and specify what they are looking for. VentureStorm also provides opportunities for student developers to apply what they learn in the classroom and gain real-world experience, build their resume, earn money/equity, and co-found technical startups while in college.

There are so many brilliant yet simple ideas which, who knows, may go on to revolutionize an entire industry (think Uber). Unfortunately many of these ideas, remain just that – ideas. Imagine the amazing things we could accomplish if more of these ideas entered the market as successful ventures. Imagine being able to pursue your own venture and co-found technical startups, rather than building a resume to pursue the ideas of others.

The possibilities are endless, and our vision at VentureStorm is to make these possibilities a reality.

I have been unbelievably lucky to come across several others that share the same passion and entrepreneurial vision as myself, and even luckier to currently call them my teammates/business partners. Over the past few years we have transformed VentureStorm from a side project into a scalable business with thousands of users relying on our platform to build their venture.

Personally I have grown tremendously through my experiences working with VentureStorm. You could register for every entrepreneurship class on campus, but nothing truly prepares you for the reality of just getting out there and doing it.

From learning how to code, to understanding the legal necessities of creating a business, networking with people in all sorts of industries, leveraging new technologies to build our platform, marketing and creating a brand, traveling and sponsoring events around the country, public speaking, and even writing blog pieces like the one you’re reading right now; the experiences and skills I’ve obtained are invaluable.

So whether you are a student developer looking to gain experience, make some money, and potentially be a technical co-founder for the next big startup, or you’re an ambitious entrepreneur looking to change the world; maybe VentureStorm can help you achieve your dreams. Just know the only thing standing in between your dreams and your reality is you.