Have you ever heard of a three-semester senior? Me neither. I just made it up. Not only did I make it up, but I am also living it. What I mean by it is that it is going to take me three semesters to complete my senior year. And I'm OK with it now, but the journey wasn't easy.
If you're anything like me, you graduated high school with a plan. A plan to go to college and graduate in four years to hopefully get a degree to start a career you absolutely love. You don't really plan for anything out of the ordinary to happen. You're so excited and overwhelmed with this new, exciting plan that you don't want to think about any obstacles that could come in your way. Unfortunately, things don't always work out the way you want them to.
The day I had to switch my major was also the day I signed up for an extra semester of college. I remember the meeting with my advisor like it was yesterday. I could tell in his face that he didn't want to tell me, and I knew in that instance that my original plan was not going to end up how I thought. I left the meeting calm and collected on the outside but devastated on the inside. My mind raced with continuous thoughts of failure, and I did not really know how to move forward.
As I am writing this now, I am questioning why I was so upset, but this was truly the end of the world for me. I had thought I failed myself and the people who support me. I told my boyfriend and my roommate just to get it off my chest and that was it. I couldn't come to terms with telling my family at that point. I wasn't sure how they were going to react, and I was already upset enough with myself.
The semester finished out, and I enrolled in new classes for the next semester. I left to go home for the summer, but I was not feeling grounded in a path. I didn't know where I was going, and I wasn't OK with that. But over time, I began to feel OK again. I realized that I couldn't actually change anything anymore and I just had to go with the flow. Everything is meant to be, and an extra year — or extra semester in my case — is not a big deal.
I began to figure out all the things I would be able to do with my new major that I couldn't before, and that is when my devastation turned to excitement. I then came to terms with telling my parents, and it did not go as badly as I had thought. Telling the rest of my family came as I went along. If it came up in conversation, then they learned of my new major. If it didn't come up in conversation, then they did not know. I didn't want this to become a bigger deal than it already was, and I didn't want to keep re-telling the story that had once pained me. Never forget that this is a personal topic, and if you don't want to tell anyone, then you don't have to. People will learn as time passes on. They may be upset that you didn't tell them, but that's OK because this is your story to tell, and it's not easy.
I soon learned that many people do not graduate on time for many different reasons, such as transferring schools, switching majors, taking a semester off, financial hardship, etc. I knew I wasn't alone in my situation, but I felt like I was. I didn't understand that people did know what I was going through.
Karen Salmansohn once said, "Anxiety happens when you think you have to figure out everything all at once. Breathe. You're strong. You got this. Take it day by day."
This quote is profound because society today has this unspoken expectation of graduating in four years, and when we don't, we begin to think the worst of ourselves. Looking back on this experience, I take forward with me strength I did not know I had. I know I can rebound from an unexpected curveball in the future. Yes, this journey was not easy, but I would not take it back. I would relive this moment in a heartbeat. It was made for me, and me only. I would not be the person I am today if it were not for my college hardship.
My advice to someone who has just found out that are they are not graduating on time is this:
It is hard, and you will cry; it is inevitable. But just know in the back of your mind that it will get better. Just think: You get to see your friends in the real world before you actually have to take it on yourself. How cool is it that you get a preview? You will graduate with a degree no matter how long it takes, and that is the most important part, right? It doesn't matter how long it takes as long as you get that diploma in the end. Stop beating yourself up for this because you are wasting your time. If anyone starts to question your intelligence and worth because of this, then you beat them up, not yourself (Just kidding. Don't beat anyone up!). You are still going to graduate, so don't let time tell you when it is OK to do so.
