As I approach the point in the semester where planning my schedule for the fall is upon me, I’m beginning to realize how fast time is going.
Last year at this time, I was a senior in high school who had little certainty in what she wanted to do as a career. This is not to say that I have everything figured out now, because trust me, I don’t. However, I know more about the options that are available to me.
Planning my fall semester for my sophomore year made me realize that I’m learning how to take control of my own life. I’m the one who is allowed to dictate what passions I tap into. I’m the one who knows what makes me spark.
I have found myself asking more questions to better understand why I feel so passionate about serving and advocating for others. There is no specific timeline in mind for me, but I know that I have support on this journey, and I am allowed to not know everything.
If you had told me in high school that I can confidently speak to the “adults” in the room and I am treated as an equal, I would’ve looked at you funny. Truthfully, I have always connected well with adults, but I never quite felt like I was an equal, mostly because I wasn’t.
I am wildly proud of the progress that I’ve made as a person. Before college, I began to care more about politics, which could’ve been a result of the political climate at the time or because I was growing up and beginning to form more of my own opinions. Personally, I think it’s a mix of both.
As I learned that my opinion mattered, I wanted to become as educated as I could on the causes I cared about. I started reading more articles that taught me about opinions that I had never heard from.
While I am still a second-semester freshman, I have started to think more about how to highlight my passions in the future. Since declaring minors in Spanish and Theology, I have found that I really do have a love for language, as well as for deeper thought into religious ideas.
I loved taking Spanish classes in middle and high school, so it is no surprise that I’m tapping into this love through my minor. It also helps that I have been gifted with educators who truly love what they do. It’s a privilege to learn from people who dedicate their lives to making others love what they love.
Having a Theology minor, however, never was a part of my plan. It mostly became an aspiration after other Theology minors encouraged me to explore it. After the first two weeks of this semester, “The Way of Francis and Clare”, a required course at SBU, was easily one of my favorite classes. I knew that a Theology minor was the only next logical step.
For the 2024 fall semester, while I did plan a heavier course load, I feel confident in my ability to know what interests me, even when it’s a higher-level class. I’m getting to know myself better as I get older, and a lot of this comes with stronger decision-making skills.
I am forever patting myself on the back for working to learn more about what gets me excited. I look forward to seeing where my bravery takes me and the ways that I will continue to grow!