About three years ago I fell into a funk. I didn't have any motivation to go to school, work, or do anything for that matter. Every day when I went to school all I thought about was dropping out and that was the topic of conversation many times with my friends. A few of my friends noticed these habits and although talking it out with them helped get some feelings out, it didn't really get me out of the funk. I always thought this would go away and I wouldn't have to do anything about it. Avoiding this situation didn't improve the outcome because I realized that ultimately, I would be the one to help myself.

I started thinking of ways I could get myself to be motivated again and I knew the first thing I had to change was my major. I wasn't meant to study computer science or information technology if I was failing the core classes. Failing my classes was such a shock to me because I had never in my entire life failed a class until I got to college. The following semester I took classes in business and information systems; a major that could potentially be an official switch. This was pretty much the best planning I had ever done because I ended up switching my major and loving the choice I have made for myself.

Once I was happy with the change of major I decided I need to do something that would get me out of my comfort zone and stop me from being shy. In the summer of 2014, I started volunteering at Liberty Science Center, which helped to rekindle my motivation as I was always learning about new topics in the STEM field. It also forced me to hold conversations and learn how to deal with different types of people, as well as made new friends.

Over the course of the next year, I knew I needed to gain some work experience in my field by applying to internships. I must have applied to about 20 different places however, only one company got back to me. It was much farther than where I would've liked to work, but I took the opportunity anyway because I needed to build my resume. I started this internship at Tiffany and Co. in summer of 2015. One of the biggest things that built my confidence was the fact that I had gotten this internship without any connections. It made me realize I had the ability to "fake it till I made it." It reassured me that I made the right decision to change my major and I was exactly where I wanted to be.

So, the point is if you are going through the same thing, my number one advice is to get out of your comfort zone.