Student Profile Piece
Plans change every day and so does Lila Berger. 8-year-old Berger was a princess. 14- year-old Berger was an acrobat. 18-year-old Berger came to Boston University undecided in the College of Communication. “I used to regret everything, like literally everything,” says Berger, smiling at the thought. “I would say something wrong in a conversation and think about it for days.”
Berger’s purple sweatsuit not only compliments her deep-brown eyes but dotes on her subtle confidence. “I’m a very creative person,” says Berger without insinuating smugness. “Creativity comes easily to me, so I like to find ways to challenge myself in that area.”
As a second-year student at BU pursuing a bachelor’s degree in advertising and a minor in business and entrepreneurship, on paper, Berger is one of many. Yes, her talents lie in her creativity and intelligence, but also in her comfortability with being uncomfortable. Today, 19- year-old Berger is on a mission as she refreshes her inbox awaiting an email from her ex-boss that may or may not come. Whether she’s hiding or seeking, Berger refuses to sidestep a creative challenge.
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Creativity always came easily to Berger, but acrobatics posed an obstacle when she was
younger – the kind of challenge she is constantly in search of. “With acrobatics, I put a lot of stress on myself,” said Berger. “I had to work really hard to be good, but I need that.”
In 2015 Berger could bend herself in half. In 2016 an injury ended her acrobatics career and thrust her into high school mean-girl culture – a transition she claims to be more uncomfortable than the prior. “It was kind of forced on me and I didn’t realize how much of an escape practice was,” says Berger. “There were a lot of coping mechanisms I didn’t realize I had through that.”
Berger attended a small Jewish state school outside of D.C. in a small town called Bethesda, where bullying ran rampant. “I always knew I was more mature than my high-school friends,” says Berger. “But coming here I realized even though I was more mature than them, I wasn’t very mature, and I had a lot to learn.”
BU posed difficulties disguised as friends. Berger’s dark eyes soften reflecting sincerity despite an unwavering smile. “I had the most traumatic – no it wasn't traumatic,” she says, correcting herself. “Just full of drama freshman year housing experience.”
Berger assumed the role of the designated moderator amongst three girls trapped in one room. “They hated each other,” says Berger. “I was in the middle of all their drama.”
Difficulties disguised as professors too. “I feel like she decided she hated me,” says Berger about one of her writing professors at BU. “Everyone would be getting A’s and I would be getting C’s.”
Confrontation is second nature to Berger, but she learned that some challenges are simply unavoidable and threaten her goals. “I love doing things for other people because I’m happy when the people around me are happy,” says Berger, acknowledging her strength and weakness. “But I’m also extremely type A and know I have to do things for myself too - I have all my lists.”
Berger sought out more challenges as a solution – creative ones. This past summer she went abroad to Israel through BU. Berger also recently started doing graphic design for the BU Buzz magazine and is an art director in BU’s Ad Club.
“Before it was being an acrobat, and now it's art,” says Berger. “Not necessarily just art, but creative challenges, which is why I want to do advertising.”
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But Berger is tired today. Not from spending three hours studying in Boston University’s
Mugar Library and not from losing her coveted afternoon nap. She’s tired of feigning indifference toward personal injustices. “The most random things will happen to me,” says Berger. “But I know what I’m capable of.”
This fall Berger briefly held another internship in marketing for a luxury career counseling service. The month-long internship stained her otherwise perfect resume, after she was no longer a necessity according to her boss.
“I honestly felt pretty used and betrayed,” says Berger after discovering the campaign was continuing with another intern at the forefront. “It was entirely my idea, and I was the only one who put the work into it.”
Employment is no longer desired, but a letter of recommendation is deserved. “I sent her a mildly passive-aggressive email asking for a letter of recommendation,” says Berger with a smirk on her face but anxiety in her eyes. “I have a feeling she is not going to send it.”
With the help of her mother, Berger crafted the email to send to her ex-boss. “I’ll tell people my mom’s 4 '11 and they don't believe it because she has this big energy,” says Berger proudly, interrupting her own story. “She wants me to advocate for myself a lot because I’m not good at that – I want to be more like her.”
Receiving a letter of recommendation isn’t Berger’s end goal, and rather exhausting her options for herself is. “I’m not always thinking I don’t want to let other people down,” says Berger. “But I want to do the best that I can because I know I can do a lot.”
Berger's unwillingness to feel overcome by defeat is integral to her personal growth. “It showed me I have real value and good ideas,” says Berger of her failed employment. “I needed to advocate for myself – not sit and watch.”
The road to success is paved through trial and tribulation, an idea Berger is all too familiar with. “I’m not a person who regrets things anymore,” says Berger. “It’s a waste of my time.”
Nobody enjoys conflict, and neither does Berger - it's uncomfortable. But with conflict, comes growth, and Berger sees challenges as creative opportunities. Today, Berger awaits the email that may or may not come from her ex-boss. Tomorrow, a new opportunity to grow will disguise itself as a challenge.
