Among the rushing feet of thousands of students, it’s easy to find yourself disappearing into the crowd. No one may look like you, no one may be like you, but in a school of 60,000 and growing, the meaning of individuality can get lost. Just like you did on your first day of school.
For one of my classes, I sit in a room that fits 300 students, a stark contrast to the humble beginnings of high school. Where there’s usually a name to a face, even if you’ve only met them once, and where you had a little more leeway to be remembered for something, even if it was for something as simple as your shoes. That past brings upon a certain feeling of nostalgia, the lack of pressure from work, school, and relationships. But ultimately, it was the lack of pressure of finding yourself and your future that was the sweetest. And in a school as large as UCF, it’s kind of impossible to ignore the fact that one day you’re going to have to graduate and go out into the world. To make your arrival as smooth as possible, it’s best that you start making a name for yourself now. But that’s easier said than done in a school of 60,000+.
Now, this post isn’t a step-by-step article on how to make yourself be remembered. You’ll hear about the importance of networking and participation in your classes more than enough times. Followed by the emphasis on real world experience because it’s not enough anymore to just have a degree- and maybe when you put it that way it makes college seem like a dark hole of the unknown. But I’m just as nervous as some of you out there are. So, no. This isn’t a step-by-step article. A first semester transfer student isn’t exactly in the position to offer a manual on that. But what this post can offer, is a reminder to tell yourself what may be some of the best advice you can receive.
There’s probably more students in this school than names you can remember, and the campus may be so big that you can still learn about new spots to study months into your time here but, at the end of the day, you are not a representation of that “small fish in a big pond” saying. Even though the pressure of being in a sea of many can be overwhelming and borderline (or quite over the line) terrifying, you have more potential to succeed and grow than you realize. If anything, you’re the big fish and it’s your potential that makes you that.
At the end of the day, there are certain qualities you have that no one else can replicate. Whether it’s in school or the workplace, individuality doesn’t die in increasing numbers. It’s something that stays with you no matter the situation. To me, that’s enough to soothe the anxiety that comes with a classroom of 300, or the pressure of an interview, and to you, it can be enough to give you that inspiration needed to make the future that you see for yourself a reality. Lucky for us, pushing forward can come in as small as a form as a raised hand when your professor asks for questions.
Without a doubt, college has a really good way of reminding you how big the world is but when you move the perspective, it also shows just how much you can do if you put your mind to it.
So don’t let the fact that you’ve already lost your car in parking garage H four times since the semester started make you feel differently.
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