Graduating From College: My Tell All

I finally graduated from College. Do you know how amazing that feels to say? I am beyond happy and excited to have finally finished College. This has been a long three years in the making. From long nights staying up late writing papers and assignments to the roller-coaster of emotions; College has definitely been a huge learning experience. Hopefully, all of you can learn from my mistakes and experiences. 

My first semester of College I personally have to say was the worst. The whole transitioning from high school to College that itself is pretty brutal but then adding in program and friend drama plus health issues and not being happy? Yeah, pretty fucking crazy first semester. Looking back on the three years that I've had I can safely say that I have been through a lot. Like a shit ton of a lot 

But let's start with my first semester. Now, you all must be wondering; program drama? Well I was originally supposed to be enrolled into the Creative Arts program but transferred into Liberal Arts. Liberal Arts is a small program of about 100 students. That being said you pretty much have the same students in all your classes. But the thing about Liberal Arts is how competitive everybody is. It was so competitive that people were hiding library books in secret places so other students couldn't complete their assignments. Like WTF??? I am not joking, gosh I wish I was because that itself was pretty crazy. Then with being a small program cliques obviously formed. I did meet some good people that for the time being were good friends. But that's the thing sometimes friends drift apart and that's what happened with the people I was friends with. I think there is one or two people I still talk to but other than that no interaction whatsoever. Then there was drama with "friends" (I'm putting friends in quotes because when I think back on it all we were never really friends. More like acquaintances). Some of the friends that I had were definitely quite sensitive. By that I mean that when I would say something they didn't like they would freak out and do their little princess scene. 

Now believe it or not that is just the half of it. Aside from all of that, I had health and happiness issues. Maybe all of you don't know but I used to be epileptic as a child and had very severe seizures. When I had seizures I could usually tell when I would be having one because I would get a tingling sensation on the right side of my throat. With all the stress, long nights and pulling all nighters for assignments and exams plus everything else my health was plummeting fairly quickly.  About halfway into the semester I started feeling tingling sensations such as the ones I would get that would warn me I was about to get a seizure. I currently do not experience seizures anymore nor am I epileptic. Thank God! But all the stress, barely any hours of sleep and poor nutrition definitely toke a toll on my body. On top of that I wasn't happy at all.  

The one piece of advice I can give to anyone whether it may be for school or life in general; is that your happiness is your number one priority. If you are not happy then what is the point? I wasn't happy with how my life was turning out. The lesson I learned in my first semester was that if something doesn't make you happy then it's not worth all the pain and mental breakdowns, it really isn't. So when I realized that on top of health issues rising then I applied for a transfer to a different program. I was thankful to a teacher that I had at the time who gave me advice and helped me with my transfer. She knew the Dean who dealt with transfers and helped me successfully transfer. But here is the thing before I went and spoke to that teacher I went to my program coordinator...let's just say the response I got from them left a lot to be desired.  After I told them what has been going on about me having health issues arising and not being happy I was first asked if I wanted a program transfer because I was failing my classes? Umm First of all I didn't fail any of my classes and the program coordinator was trying to convince me to stay in the program for a full year instead of a semester. WTF a human being is telling you that they are unhappy and you completely ignore them? Yeah that's normal. For a program coordinator they really didn't seem to care about their students. 

That is another reality check that many will face. A lot of teachers and I do mean A LOT of teachers will not care about you or your problems/challenges. The amount of teachers I've met who did not care about their job or about their students is endless. The sad part is that I realized that in my first semester. Ugh and don't even get me started on all the horrible teachers I've had to endure. It seems that there is an endless supply of shitty teachers who will personally make it their job to make you hate their class. Trust me you will meet quite a few teachers who have a chip on their shoulders, who are not all there, think they are the best in their fields (which they're not) and some who are not as bright as they think they are. I'm not joking in my last semester I had this teacher who was a complete idiot who did not know a single thing concerning the internet. Which btw his class was about the digital culture aka the internet. 

And all of my semesters combined I learned things about myself that I otherwise would've never of found out. I've had to deal with a lot of bullshit, stress, lack of sleep and personal issues. But I get to finally say that I made it! But aside of all the negative aspects of my three years of College; I found myself. I've grown beyond belief and I've come to appreciate all the challenges that I've had to face because without them I wouldn't be the young woman I am today. Some of the most important advice I can give to all of you is to try and discover yourself. Believe when I say that is not an easy feat. Discovering yourself and finding that inner happiness is not easy. It is a long hard rode to be on but once on it life becomes brighter. Finding myself I've come to realize that I now know what I believe and stand for, What I want to do with my life and I've become a more optimistic person altogether. 

I'm happy and grateful that I stayed and had the chance to attend College because without College I really wouldn't know what I would want to do for the rest of my life. You see I was originally supposed to attend College for two years but instead I extended my stay by a year. I'm so happy I did this because it gave me the opportunity to really find out what I love to do and what I would like to study when I get to University. See I only knew in my last year of College that I really wanted to be a writer. Heck, it was only in my last semester that I realized that I truly have a passion for writing and that it makes me so happy. Every time I write I get this sense of overwhelming happiness and as silly as it might seem to others writing on my blog makes me really happy. Now I'm not talking about a short burst of happiness but about happiness that makes you feel fulfilled and happy with life. It makes me incredibly happy when I get emails and comments from you guys; my beautiful readers who enjoy my writing, As a writer having that sort of support and recognition is amazing. And to add on how successful my blog has been? Yeah you bet I'm really happy right now. 

What I'm trying to tell all of you is that College gave me the opportunity to find myself but also to discover what I want to do for the rest of my life. And truth be told back when I decided to extend my stay in College I wasn't ready to go to University and decide what field to work in. Let's be honest with each other, telling an 18 year old to decide on a career path? Um yeah it's not an easy decision to make by far. Essentially, you're asking a kid because who is an adult at 18? To make a single choice which will effect them for the rest of their lives. Another piece of advice for all you readers out there who are currently in College or are planning to go to College is to take your time and not rush yourself. You're young! So take the time you currently have and look at all your options. Something is bound to grab your attention. So don't rush yourself! 

There is one thing I want all of you to remember and that is to do what makes YOU HAPPY. Not what makes others happy. Life isn't a race. We all progress and grow at our own paces so take the time you have and be happy. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this special post. Let me know what you guys think :)