There’s this stigma surrounding the idea of finishing your undergraduate studies in four years. Four years is the norm, so when you deviate from it, people assume you’re dumb, wasting your time, or are just plain lazy. It doesn’t matter if you had to take a semester off for personal reason, or to work so you can make money to keep going to school. No excuse is good enough for the harsh, judgmental eye of society.
But I’m here to tell you something: it doesn’t matter. College is college, no matter how long it takes you to finish. It doesn’t matter if it takes you the “normal” eight semester or if you take twelve. It doesn’t matter if you start undergrad at the age of 18 or at the age of 78. The fact of that matter is that you’re doing it. You are doing it. You’re making it through college. So what if it’s taking you longer than the “norm”? Society condemns you if you don’t have a college education but condemn you more if it takes you “too long” to graduate.
Remember that there is no such thing as “barely graduating”. If you’re graduating, you’re graduating. Don’t hold yourself to an impossible, and often harmful, standard. You’re going to make it and you’re going to do just fine.
This is dedicated to all my 5th, 6th, or even 7th year seniors. Get those credits, get that experience, and get those A’s. You can do it, and you will do it.