By Jocelyn Visnov
I still have the same blonde-ish hair and the same favorite pair of worn out gray Adidas sneakers that I did last summer. However the person I am today is very different from the girl I see in photos from less than a year ago.
My sophomore year of college was a year full of growth in various aspects of my life. After the different mountains and valleys brought on by my season of “sophomore slump,” I know I have grown as a person.
Just before the year began, I took part in a miniature study abroad program offered by Manhattan College. Traveling to Lisbon after having never been to Europe before and not knowing anyone else on the trip prior to departure, this three week adventure took me out of my comfort zone like never before. It widened my view of the world and opened my mind to a range of possibilities.
One event which threw me off as I returned to campus was what quickly became a very ugly breakup. My first “real” relationship came to a crashing end, and it was not a quick ordeal. Breaking things off with my first boyfriend and walking away from him was incredibly difficult.
Looking back, this relationship was toxic. Still, the weeks that followed the breakup were tougher than I could have imagined. But I had to do what I knew deep down was best for myself, even if it didn’t feel that way at that moment.
Later in the year, I came to a strange realization. The specific profession I once felt was my sole purpose in life had no longer fit my future goals. This left me feeling lost and confused. Luckily in leaning on my support system, I was able to tweak my studies so that they again felt exciting and better fit my professional goals.
Adjusting to the college social sceen after a year of COVID shutdowns was stressful. I found that the people I had once surrounded myself with no longer had the same idea of what we wanted out of a college experience. It took a while, but I knew I had to make a change and focus my energy elsewhere in order to be happy.
You can’t choose what comes your way, but you can choose how to respond. Allow yourself to feel all the feelings, decide how you can fix your problems, then adjust and move forward.
I no longer feel like I need to be in search of the perfect person to make me happy. I feel energized by meeting new people and spending time with my new sorority sisters. In a month, I begin my first big girl internship in NYC, and I’m excited about my future career.
Throughout the year I would keep reminding myself that “This Too Shall Pass,” and it finally has. And as difficult as it was, now I feel more confident in myself, my relationships, and my personal and professional goals, which is something I could not say a year ago.