Over the last three years of my college career, I’ve learned a lot and when I say I’ve learned a lot, I mean about myself. While I feel like I’ve learned a lot, there is still so much that I don’t know about a lot of things, not just myself.
In high school, I always thought I would be an English major and lead a successful life in publishing because all I’d be doing is reading all day. That didn’t work out for me as I decided to go into Public Relations with a (wait for it) minor in Musical Theatre. Not necessarily what I had in mind but I’m definitely not mad about it.
I started in my major a little late compared to the rest of the people in my grade that are trying to pursue the same career. I would sit in class and listen to all of the experience and knowledge that everyone has while I know I have nothing to put on my resumé.
My first two years of college, I wasn’t involved at all. Freshman year I told myself that I would give myself a year to get comfortable with the school and see what’s out there that I’d like to get involved in. This was just an excuse as I never actively looked for this that piqued my interest. Going into sophomore year with the mentality of not really wanting to be involved, I let another year of opportunity pass me by. After being in my major for only the last semester of sophomore year, I told myself that I had to catch up with my peers.
I told myself that junior year will be the year of involvement and that I will give my all to everything I do. It wasn’t too late to put myself out there and gain experience. My motto for the year became, “Say yes. Yes to anything that could benefit you in the long run” because why not? What’s the worst that could happen besides being told no? There are always more opportunities out there. So, that’s what I did.
The summer before Junior year, a friend of mine told me to apply to be a part of the Her Campus Montclair team, and being accepted into this amazing chapter was what got the ball rolling for me. The confidence that had been instilled in me from my welcome email let me know that if I try, I could do it. Fall semester of junior year, I went out for fall recruitment for a sorority called Theta Phi Alpha and I was given the pleasure to join such an amazing organization. As I’m finally feeling like I’m a part of campus, even if we were in a pandemic, I felt like I could take on anything and so I did.
When the opportunity was presented to me by one of my professors to lead a team that would be working with an actual business. This would be my first time working with a client, let alone being one of the people running the whole team. But I took the opportunity and gave it my all.
For this specific class, which will not be named, I was surrounded by people who had far more experience than I did. In fact, I had zero experience which made everyone else around me intimidating. But I didn’t want to fail because failing wasn’t an option for me.
I’ve learned a lot from all of these experiences as a whole. I’ve learned how to balance work and play. I have learned to not be afraid to believe in myself. I’ve learned that pushing yourself to the limit is not always the best thing to do and I’ve learned that I can truly do anything I put my mind to.
So, the advice that I leave to you, future me, is to not give up on yourself. Continue to do what you know and always be open to learning more. Remember that knowledge is key, whether it be surface knowledge or deep, it could help someone in the long run and remember that things happen, good or bad.
The advice I leave to you dear reader, remember to love yourself and believe that you can accomplish anything. Be your biggest fan.