College: Take It with You When You Go

As published by Miss Millennia Magazine.

It’s that time of the year when thoughts of self-reflection and planning for the hot days of summer come rushing like cool fresh water of a rapid river in to your mind. Your anticipation for the future is overwhelming and the possibility of new adventures feel just like the subtle changes of the coming season within the air. This time is also an important one for graduating seniors at the high school and college level. You think back at all the hours you have sat at wooden desks and metal tables and you wonder how it will all play a part in the time yet to come. As the realization of reality hits, you wonder about your career, and dare I say, you wonder if you will be successful.

As a college graduate, with a bachelor’s degree framed and hung proudly on the poorly painted purple walls of my room, I’ve gone through the obvious worries about my future. I struggled to grasp the fact that I was not a psychic and that I could not immediately tell what was to come of a wannabe writer. The real world takes hold of your bones and shakes you awake. Life is no longer just about studying in the classroom setting for a degree anymore—you have that already—but it becomes a lifelong path of planning and aiming for new goals.

I have learned, however, that the skills I have developed in college can also become applicable in my career. The hands on motto of “learn by doing” from my Alma Matter, Cal Poly Pomona, have given me this weird sort of confidence in the bullpen as a writer just starting out. It has pushed me to not shy away from things I once believed I could never do, and it has been part of the reason why I’m sort of even doing anything after the degree came in the mail.

Hours of diligent studying and research has made the smooth transition with some of the work I do with the newsrooms and offices that I’m involved with, and time spent putting up with difficult people in group projects has taught me the patience to really work with anybody. My ability to reason, manage, and problem solve has definitely strengthened after attending a university.

My undergraduate education has only made me stronger and I plan to master those skills that I’ve acquired in the next educational step. The experience in general has led me to believe that what makes a college graduate successful in life isn’t the amount of awards and honors that they get to put up on the wall when they get home. The important things are the life lessons, skill sets, and the boost of will power and confidence that you experience at your school, and most importantly it’s what of that you take with you when you go.