Collegiettes, college is the time to find yourself. I know it sounds cheesy, since we’ve been told we were going to find ourselves in high school, but that was just the start of our journey. College is the final finish, because after college it’s time for the real world. The question is: who are you going to be after graduation?
Will you be the same girl from high school? I know I won’t be. I’ve changed in the last 2 years since I’ve been in college. I’ve changed for the better and a little bit for the worse. I think we’ve all had moments in college where we look in the mirror and don’t recognize ourselves. I know I’ve looked in the mirror and did a double take and said “Who is this girl?” It felt strange because of course, I still looked like me, but it pretty much was like looking at a twin, since you know twins look the same, but aren’t the same. The girl staring back at me had a maturity to her that wasn’t there before, but also a tiredness from all the stress she’d been through, which dimmed a light that she had. The girl seemed less carefree and more realistic and focused. The girl still had the same contagious smile and positivity from high school. It clicked then that this girl basically looked like a college kid rather than a high school kid.
Now don’t get me wrong, college didn’t change me for the worst. College is harder than high school, so we all have those moments where we just wanna give up and be a hobo. College is like a rollercoaster. It takes you up to your highest and happiest carefree moments, then brings you through a million loops and spins, which is the equivalent of all the stress you feel from classes and trying to get a head, but still has those fun moments within those spins. At the end of the ride, you’re gonna look back and maybe not miss those stressful hard loops, but you’ll miss the fun spins. I’m still on my rollercoaster ride and let me tell you: the stressful loops have knocked me down, but my fun spins keep me going.
My stressful loops are my classes and trying to get into nursing school. Those loops have knocked me down, but without them I wouldn’t work as hard as I am now or put so much determination into my work. I could have gone without the sleepless nights and tears, but it’s just added to who I am. My fun spins are my friends, like my high school best friends that never fail to put a smile on my face even though we’re miles apart. When we see each other over break, it’s like nothing changed. My college best friends who keep me grounded when my high school best friends can’t. My college best friends are girls I never thought I would be friends with, but have never been more grateful to have them in my life. They go on late night runs to grab ice cream, random trips in the city, giving me motivational talks, telling me awful jokes, and being real with me when I’ve gone off the deep end.
Back to who I am. I don’t know because I’m still looking. Yes, I’ve made mistakes in college that have made me worse, but have also shaped me. I’m not the girl from high school, just bits and pieces of her. College me? Well, she’s a work in progress, but I know when I see her in the end 2-3 years from now at graduation, it’s gonna be great. Collegeittes: keep making mistakes again and again, but also keep having fun because those are the moments that will shape you. Be the girl you wanna see at graduation and in the real world. Don’t change for anyone else.