It’s that time of the spring semester again when everyone is preparing for finals and thinking of their summer plans. The weather is getting warmer, seniors are preparing for the commencement ceremony, and we’re all wondering about our career goals. After all, it’s almost summer, which means you’ll be getting questions about if you’re going to be starting a new job post-grad, if you have any internships lined up, and if you’re doing anything to advance your career during this time. Remembering that this is my last spring semester and that I only have one more semester in college left, the thoughts of what I will be doing post-grad and what I can do to prepare this summer are heavy on my mind.
I started college back in August 2020, which was nearly three years ago already. It feels like time has gone by so fast. Graduating high school never even felt real since my classmates and I never got to have the typical end of senior moments: senior week, prom, graduation. Time is weird; it doesn’t feel like it was that long ago that I was a teenager in high school. But here I am, 21 years old now, and getting closer each day to entering the “real world.”
When I started college, I had a goal: graduate early. My whole life, I’ve always prioritized school and getting good grades. I wanted to finish college quickly and be done with school so I can start working, even though doing so is very intimidating. Entering school with college credits and taking classes during breaks has led to me being able to finish a semester early, and I’ll still be able to walk with my class in May. I spent the majority of my time in college focused solely on classes because the weight of me simply attending college was always on my mind. I couldn’t let my grades slip. I’m a first-generation college student, and I’m the oldest child of immigrants. My cousin and I, being only a month apart, have talked about the pressures we feel being the oldest and the first ones in our family to graduate. We have the support of our families, but we’ve had to navigate the college journey on our own. We’re getting closer to being done, which feels surreal.
All this focus on making sure my grades were high, as well as the coronavirus pandemic, led to me not having the more “traditional” college experience. I’m also a commuter student, so being involved on campus wasn’t a main priority; going to class and simply getting the work done was. Eventually, I realized I wanted to do more in college. I’m not going to a bunch of parties or anything like that, but I decided to try new things with the time I have left in college. I joined Her Campus last semester, and now next semester, I’m going to be on the e-board. This semester, I joined the Latin American Student Organization, and I competed in a beauty pageant that they held (still can’t believe I did that!) I did these things while dealing with a lot in my personal life, and it was not until recently that I realized I should give myself more credit.
I’ve faced some difficult challenges, but I still tried new things and I’ve still kept my grades up. So, yes, while I am still very much thinking about what I’m going to be doing once I graduate and what to do to teach my career goals, having done these things makes me want to do even more in my last semester. I want to enjoy college as much as I can before my time at MSU is up.
So, for anyone else out there who feels like they haven’t “lived it up” in their college years, it’s never too late to try something new, even if you’re already a senior. Take yourself out of your comfort zone a little bit. You define how you want your college experience to be.