With graduation just six weeks away, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was freaking out. I've even contemplated failing just to stay a little longer (which I won't do). Four of the best years of my life are coming to an end and I am going to be forced to be in the “real world.”
It is one of the scariest things I’ve ever had to think about. What happens next? Will I find a job? Will I find a job I actually like? Am I ever going to pay off my student loans? These are the questions that haunt me every day. While I may not have the answers to these questions yet, I can say the past four years have given me all of the answers and more to all of the questions I had before I came to college.
First, it is definitely true what they say: get involved! I am so happy that I chose to get involved and join clubs my freshman year. Getting involved helped me meet so many new people I would not have met and it helped me build leadership skills I can use for the rest of my life. The advisers of the clubs I got involved in also helped me with so much more than just the club. They were there when I needed help with anything at school.
You should also try to get a job or work-study. I was totally against this idea my freshman year because I wanted more time to hang out with friends and “chill”. Basically, I’d rather goof off than work. Getting a work-study was such a smart decision in the end. I learned how to balance my time better and I actually was able to not be a completely poor college student and actually have a little spending money. Even if my bank account still barely reached $100.
Another thing is to have an open mind especially when it comes to people. You’re not going to get along with everyone, trust me, but you can at least try. I had wild roommates my freshman year. I could write a whole different article just on the crazy stories from my room my freshman year, but the best one is the time when my suite-mate peed on my bed.
That is right, you read that correctly. My suite-mate literally peed in my bed. I was almost even in the bed. Long story short, she had a lot of alcohol in her system and mistook my side of the room for the bathroom and my bed for her bed. In order to get along and live in harmony, I had to just laugh it off and forgive. It would not have done anyone good to just hold the grudge. Especially since my school is a small campus. Everyone knows everyone and everything that happens. So why make things more difficult? Just simply try your best to respect people’s opinions if they're different than yours, talk it out with people when you have disagreements, and forgive people.
All of those things were things I was scared about and nervous for before coming into college, but once I got here, I discovered the answers. So maybe I’m graduating in six weeks and do not know any of the answers about anything in my future. But that is not a big deal when I know I’ll be able to figure it out one day. If you’re going to college or going into the real world, don’t be stressed or nervous and just know that everything will work out. Trust me.
