I recently spoke on self-worth and identity but I want to touch on those topics again, seeing as they are key elements of who we are as human beings. As I am about to finally graduate college and cross the stage into the "real world," I find it necessary more than ever to be grounded in who I am and know my personal value. These are lessons that I wish I had learned before embarking on my journey to college.

If I had a deep sense of self-worth and identity, I would probably not have gotten involved in some unfortunate situations that caused me to have to rediscover my sense of worth and get in touch with my core values again. Our campus organizations, grades, friends, and family do not define us. We must define ourselves and choose the type of person we want to be in the world. Now that I have gotten to the end of my college journey, I realize how easy it is, especially for an impressionable freshman, to get caught up in the newness and excitement of the college environment, from parties and drinking to fraternities and sororities to chasing prestige through campus leadership.

One thing that I have learned through my years at Clemson is that if what you are doing does not prepare you for the professional world, fulfill your passions, or help create a positive impact that is visible then it is not worth your time. However, despite everything that I have done to assign meaning to my college experience, I am determined to create the life that I have always envisioned for myself after graduation, which is a life full of wonderful friends, caring family, a career that I am passionate about, and simply enjoying the little things about life.

That is one thing that I feel is easy to lose sight of in college, where we feel like we have to constantly be doing work and being productive at all times of the day. It brings a great sense of peace and calm to be able to sit still and enjoy your favorite song or watch a favorite TV show while enjoying lunch. The little things are what make life so great.

College is ultimately about figuring out the type of person you want to be in the world and determining the impact you want to make in society. I have come so far that I never could have imagined seeing the end in sight when I was up at 3:00 a.m. on a weekday writing a lab report as a Biological Science major freshman year (I am now a Communication major). College has definitely been a journey of ups and downs. At times I found myself chasing things and people that I thought I needed to complete me. However, I have learned the hard way that you alone are the only person who can make yourself whole.

Depend on no one or thing to fill the missing piece inside yourself. Water yourself and watch yourself grow into the person you always knew you had the potential to be.