Google Tasks is an extension that keeps track of all your important to-do items. You’re able to add details or notes to each task, assign a due date and get notifications from the platform.

This is not a paid promotion, but it’s a system that I use on a daily basis. According to Google, I completed 1,307 tasks.

Another fun fact about the platform is that you’re able to revisit your completed tasks in the archive section. You can look through every single task you’ve ever marked complete.

Since my Google account for Oakland University will be deleted in a few months (hello, graduation), I decided to take a trip down memory lane to see some of the things I marked completed while at Oakland University over the last four years.

At first glance, I found a list of completed to-dos: homework assignments, chapters to read before class and small, minuscule reminders.

But I also found a timeline to my journey here at OU – a record of shifting priorities and past versions of myself at Oakland University. 

Apparently, my university career can be summarized in 1,307 checkmarks.

“Czech language homework,” completed June 15, 2023

I was about two months into living in Prague, and at that point, language homework was a part of my daily routine. It was one of the only structured things in a life that felt very chaotic and confusing.

Every night, I would sit down in the kitchen of my apartment, go through the words I learned that day and pronounce them out loud. At the time, I could tell I was making real progress: I was no longer flustered ordering dinner or asking for directions. Going to the grocery store was no longer an anxiety-inducing task.

Now I can’t speak more than two words in Czech, but I remember feeling somewhat confident in my skills at the time. Seeing that task brought me back to a time when I was adapting and deciphering a new language.

Apply for PSA, completed Nov. 11, 2023

PSA stands for Pi Sigma Alpha, the political science honors society I’m a part of. Every spring, the group heads to Washington, D.C., to present research at the national conference.

At the time, submitting my application felt like nothing. I had to write a quick abstract about my research. It was another item on my long list of responsibilities.

My application got accepted, and that small task turned into a trip to D.C. in the spring of 2024. The weekend ended up being one of my favorite memories: exploring the city and laughing with friends. 

Email WB, completed Nov. 23, 2024

WB stands for William Beaumont, where I worked in the marketing department for six months. 

The task was a pretty simple one: send a cold email with my resume and writing samples. I knew they hired interns, but I saw no job posting online. I wanted to let them know I was interested in the position.

I guess the email worked because they emailed me back and asked me to come in for an interview. I got the job.

Grovel, completed Dec. 4, 2024 

One recurring theme about going through my old tasks is that, in all honesty, I don’t always know what they mean.

For those who don’t know, groveling is defined as  “behaving with too much respect towards someone, in order to show that you want to please them or want them to forgive you.”

“And, although it’s not widely known, it is also the season of groveling. So, if you felt like calling me back I’d be more than happy to do the traditional Christmas groveling,” Billy Crystal said in “When Harry Met Sally.”

Amen, Billy, because I apparently had some seasonal groveling to do during the holiday season.

I hope I groveled well – maybe a friend, a professor, a missed deadline or a situation I had to smooth over. We’ll never know.

I guess there’s something comforting about the fact that I don’t remember what I had to grovel for. Things smooth over as time passes. Whatever it was, it felt big enough to write down, and small enough, eventually, to forget.

I assume I groveled well because it was marked as complete.

Cancel LSAT subscription, completed Dec. 6, 2024

Here’s a fun fact about me: I used to be pre-law and seriously studied for the LSAT. 

Starting in May, I had a subscription to an LSAT prep website. I had a structured process: I would take a handful of practice tests every week, and when I was not doing practice tests, I was reviewing my past mistakes and reading through prep materials.

I canceled the subscription in December. The LSAT kicked my butt. 

I changed my mind and cancelled my subscription after finally succumbing to the fact that logic games are not fun. They will never be fun. Godspeed to any pre-law students.

Study Abroad Scholarships Due- OU Platform, completed on Jan. 10, 2025

This is one of the few completed tasks I remember vividly.

I was sitting on the top floor of the Oakland Center near the fireplace, with my laptop open, writing an essay to the university as to why they should give me money. 

I edited and reworded some things, but I eventually submitted it with a mix of uncertainty and foolish hope.

Less than five months later, I was unlocking the door to my apartment in Paris. I threw my luggage in the corner and headed out to explore the city.

I did end up getting some scholarship money, which is always super helpful. 

Scrolling through these tasks taught me that smaller things make up a bigger experience. They aren’t always dramatic milestones, but they’re sometimes necessary steps in moving forward.

Google Tasks, you didn’t just keep me organized. You also accidentally documented my life over the past four years – marking milestones, class readings and vague and confusing notes to self.

Before my archive disappears, I’m glad I looked back.