This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Albizu chapter.
Lately I’ve encountered myself with the fact that I’m soon going to be a college grad student… Now what? Where did the past 3 years go? I can still remember clearly the day I graduated high school,the summer before college and my first college course. I wasn’t a big fan of taking Biology at 7am, by the way. The point is, it hit me how fast time goes by. I am satisfied with what I have accomplished in my college career. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done more than I ever thought possible and know there is still more to come. So far, I’ve made memories that will last a lifetime, amazing friends, got involved in campus and given my time to the community. All of this without hurting my GPA or image and while enhancing my resume. However, from all the things people told me in my senior year before getting into college, there are certain things I had to learn for myself, since they forgot to tell me some stuff before getting my acceptance letter:
1. It’s a competitive world. You need to seek to do great and be great in whatever you do. Be warned, in this one you are basically alone. Why? because your peers are under the same pressure as you and everyone in the end gets involved in different things as they continue to learn more about themselves.
2. You are not that independent at all. We still need our parents to pay tuition, room and board, gas, food and basically everything in the end. Unless you look for a job and it’s unlikely you will make enough to support yourself entirely.
3. Studying and working. From experience, I can tell you that this is HARD and NOT easy. I truly admire those who get to graduate while still managing to work. I’ve been working from a very young age in comparison to my friends and classmates, which I enjoyed, made me feel like I was contributing to my house and community. Plus, it’s always nice to have your own money and not having to ask your parents for some. Last semester though, I had to quit because academically I needed more time if I wanted to prepare myself for the next step in my career. I had to decline offers from friends to have lunch dates or stay at some place for the weekend because I was that friend that was always in class or working and in my free time, I just wanted to sleep. Now I can enjoy life more freely and study much more while still being involved on campus.
4. The party scene. I learned that this is not for everyone. At first, I justified the fact that I wasn’t having that much fun. Maybe I wasn’t with the correct people or at the correct place. No! I just didn’t like to be where everyone was at. Either top much noise or people, I didn’t enjoy myself at all. Waste of money and outfits, but I now know I enjoy going to coffee shops with my friends or having wine nights than being at those crazy places.
5. Think ahead. Everything you do, every single thing you do will affect you for the next 5,10,20 or 30 years. You choose if it will affect you positively or negatively. Learn from other people’s mistakes and try not to do anything your future-self will regret. Remember: this is your future, your image and your path.