If you had asked me one year ago where I would be today, my answer would have been so extremely far off from what has actually happened. First of all, I would have guessed that I would be a student at Northeastern University. I would imagine that I was pretty awful at making friends in college and, halfway through the spring semester, I still hadn’t really found “my people” yet. And lastly, I would have thought that I’d still be 100% sure about my major and what I wanted to do with it. Of course, if I had guessed any of these things, I would have been entirely wrong. But, that’s the amazing thing about college; it’s the most wildly unpredictable, confusing, and incredible experience I’ve had yet. Here are some things I’ve learned as my life has changed since I got into BU.
Big life decisions are scary — keep an open mind and trust your gut.
You probably noticed that this is a Her Campus BU article, but I thought I was going to end up at Northeastern University. Choosing a school taught me a lot about making important decisions, because choosing my college was probably the biggest decision that I have made yet. Northeastern was my dream school throughout the application process. I had fallen in love with it the first time I toured, and I directed all of my energy during the college application process to getting into NEU. When I did get in, I was ecstatic and I was convinced that I was going there. When I received my acceptance from BU, I was excited, but in my mind, it didn’t really matter much because I already knew I was going to Northeastern. However, maybe a month before the decision deadline, I started to doubt myself. As I looked over all of my options, it became clear that I should really be considering what BU had to offer.
Credit: Morgan Clark
This thought festered until I was torn between BU and Northeastern, and the decision consumed my thoughts almost every minute of the day. I signed up for admitted student tours at both schools, but after touring BU and sitting in on a PR class, I knew for sure that it was the right school for me. I finally had that gut feeling that so many people describe when they’re deciding on a school. Keeping an open mind and trusting my instincts was the best thing that I could have done for myself during this process. I reviewed all of my options even though I thought I had my mind made up, and because of that, I am now confident that BU was the right decision for me.
No matter what your expectations are, college will never fail to surprise you.
I was incredibly concerned about making friends in college. While I’m not completely awful at social interactions, I went to a small high school and have known my friends since kindergarten, so it had been a while since I really had to put myself out there and find a new group of friends. Orientation was my first real chance to meet my fellow classmates in person, but so many people told me that orientation friends don’t last and that I shouldn’t go into it with any expectations. Then, after orientation, I was told that the first friends you make at school won’t last and that I shouldn’t expect anything in the first few weeks.
Credit: Morgan Clark
While, sure, I didn’t go into either orientation or my first days of school expecting any of my friendships to last, this set an expectation all on its own — that none of the people I was meeting would end up being long-term friends. Over the summer I texted Jules, a girl I met at a random orientation event, and asked her to go to a concert with me during the first week of school. On my first night at BU, we planned to go to a Weeks of Welcome event, so I went to her room to meet her and drop off her ticket. It was then that I met her roommate Carly, and we ended up watching Netflix and doing face masks and just hanging out for most of the night. Despite what I was expecting, Jules and Carly and I became best friends, and now I can’t imagine BU without them. What I learned from this was that no matter what you expect from your college experience, it’ll find a way to surprise you, sometimes in the best ways possible.
Let yourself dream and explore your interests.
It’s okay to be unsure of your major, and I knew that going into college. My parents, advisors, and fellow students had all reassured me of this fact. However, I was entirely confident that I would not want to change my career goals. Over the course of high school, I had become very interested in politics, but I knew I did not want to run for elected office. I decided that based on my interests and skills, I wanted to pursue a career in political communications. My aspirations haven’t entirely changed since getting to school, but the way I think about the future of my career definitely has.
Credit: Morgan Clark
I realized when I got to BU that I had pushed aside the possibilities of a lot of careers that I thought were unattainable, like working in television or finding a career that allows me to further explore my interest in art history. Meeting students in my college (BU’s College of Communication) who were doing such interesting and ambitious things helped me to allow myself to dream a little more. While I still want to be realistic about my career goals, I think that my idea of what is realistic has changed. With the help of advisors and faculty, I’ve learned a lot more about what BU grads can go on to do after school, and it has left me feeling optimistic about my future, even if I am less sure of exactly what I want to do with my degree. Thankfully, there are plenty of opportunities to explore my interests, through both classes and extracurriculars, and I have advisors and faculty that I can turn to when I want to learn more about my career options.
This past year has been a crazy experience, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I’m so glad that everything that has happened since my BU acceptance has led me to where I am now.
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