As a senior at Florida State University, my time is coming to an end, but I have learned A LOT. Most of what I learned did not come from the classroom. College will put you through ups, downs, trials and tribulations but attending Florida State was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I wouldn’t trade my experiences for anything in the world.
Every college student has had their fair share of experiences, both good and bad. One thing that I have learned is DO NOT let anybody finesse you. Too often, as students, we have problems and we seek help and one person tells us no and we assume that’s the end of it. NO!
If I had listened to the number of times financial aid or other administrators told me “no,” I would not be graduating May 3, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. If I had a dollar for the number of times somebody told me “there’s nothing we can do,” I would be swimming in a pile of money.
We all deal with different personal, financial and family situations as college students, but I quickly learned is that there is ALWAYS a way. The trick is to keep asking. Be persistent. Be annoying if you have to. Go back to that office and talk to a different person or talk to the professor every day and eventually, someone will tell you exactly what you need to hear. Write e-mails, call, set up appointments, POP UP. Do whatever you have to do to get the outcome you’re looking for because, if someone else has done it, there is a way.
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Also, you will find countless people that are more than willing to help and guide you through whatever issues you are having, you just have to reach out to them. If you think about it, they deal with thousands of students every day, so you can’t blame them for not being helpful at first. In all honesty, your issues are minute in comparison to the rest of the student body. They have no obligation to make you a priority. But that doesn’t mean you have to accept what they’re telling you the first, second or even third time. Why should they put in any effort to help you if you are not putting in the effort yourself?
I realized quickly, that If I wanted my problems solved I would have to figure out a way. If I wanted to graduate I had to make something shake. I was not about to give Florida State University all this money, for them to tell me “no” whenever they wanted to.
I would sit in an office every day for a week straight UNTIL I got the answer I wanted.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. You probably won’t get through it by yourself and you don’t have to. If you know somebody that gone through similar problems, ask them. Ask people that are older than you and figure out how they did it. Without the people around me, I would not have gotten through anything so use your resources.
College isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to be too hard. Make it work by any means necessary, and have fun!