As a junior in college you are kind of expected to already know what you are doing. You should have a set major and maybe a minor. You should be well involved in whichever organizations you choose and have met your future bridesmaids. However, that just isn’t the case for every girl. At the beginning of my sophomore year, I thought for sure I had done it all. I was done with my core classes. I sat on the executive board of my community service sorority and was hanging out with ladies I knew for sure were my best friends. All seemed right, but then both my grandmothers passed away in the spring semester, and things seemed to go downhill from there. I became negative and so did everything around me. I ended my sophomore year in a place I never want to be again. While most of my friends didn’t go very far at the beginning of junior year, I began to feel alone and out of place. I was seriously reconsidering if Georgia College was still the place for me. But I wasn’t ready to give up just yet.
Here are the steps I took to re-discovering my place:
1. I got a new job.
If can be really hard to see change if you don’t actively create it. So I got a new job which allowed me to put new people in my life. While these aren’t my best friends or anything like that, I can always expect a good laugh when I come to work.
2. I joined a new sorority.
I realized that as much as I loved the people in my original sorority, I didn’t have the right support system there. I originally joined freshman year because I wanted the opportunity to continue to do community service without all the commitment of a NPC sorority. By the end of the sophomore year, I started to realize that I wasn’t genuinely happy anymore and no longer wanted to pay to be in such a negative environment. I did the unexpected and, as a junior, went through the process of joining Alpha Gamma Delta. I’ve only been a member for two weeks now, and I couldn’t be any more nervous about my decision. Even with all my doubts, I’ve never left a single event not feeling completely at home and thankful for the Lord pushing me in that direction.
3. I joined other academic-related student organizations.
I got involved in other places around campus because even though I was sure of my major, I knew I wanted to get some more perspectives. College allows you to be a part of many organizations that apply to life after college. I decided it was finally time for me to take advantage of that.
4. I strengthened the connections I already had.
I mentioned before that I hadn’t really lost too many of my friends. I just needed to make an effort to see how each person made my life better and how I could make theirs better. It can be hard to reach out to people who seem like they haven’t gone very far, but sometimes you realize through conversation that things have changed a lot more than you expect. My advice would be to make the time to invite a friend to dinner, a movie, skate night, or whatever you like!
5. I try to be more positive.
Probably the most important thing on the list is how hard I’m working to stay positive. Everyone tells you how rewarding it can be to look for the blessings in every situation, but you truly don’t know until you do it. When life seemed to keep knocking me down, the feeling of hope is the only thing that kept me going, and it has been hard. Some days I just want to revert back, but then I realize how far I’ve come. Being as positive as you can and just really being yourself not only brings new people into your life but also new experiences.
We are about a month into the semester, and, while everyday isn’t perfect, I don’t feel so out of place anymore. I’ve found girls who share a similar passion as me, and roommates who love me and my weird eating habits. I’ve reconnected with friends and improved my overall love of the college I attend.