Happy May everyone! It is finally here- the month in which the weather starts to warm up BUT it is, more importantly, the month the school year comes to a close! It is hard for me to believe that my freshman year of college is already over. But then again, I can believe it. It has felt both long and short at the same time: the individual days and weeks were long and sometimes hard, but the months themselves flew by. So with it being the end of the year (save for finals- let's not go there!) and also the day high school seniors have officially chosen a college, I thought I should write a post reflecting on this past year to celebrate and look back on the lessons I have learned.
With this in mind, I present to you my list of "What Should be Left Behind in High School and What You Should Pack for College."
1. Leave Behind Shyness and Insecurities: I learned this one the hard way.Try to shed your shyness before you enter college and learn to believe in who you are. Believe that you are worthy of good things, good friends, good grades, and a good college experience.
2. Pack Openness: Be sure to bring an open frame of mind to college. You will meet many new people and be asked to entertain new ideas, thoughts, or opinions that you may have never considered before. Allow yourself to be open to these things; you never know- by being open, you may meet your best friend, you may discover a new career path that you never considered, or just enjoy an experience that you have never had before.
3. Leave Behind the High School Drama: This is college. For the most part, we are all (at least in age) adults here. There is no need to bring that "he said, she said" drama of high school into this environment. This kind of petty drama is not worth the breath wasted to say it! Save your breath, and save everyone else from being tied up in this nonsense.
4. Pack Respect: I have seen it so many times already in just my first year of school- there are so many students that show zero respect to their professors, cafeteria workers, or others in general. What will make you stand out in a room of ill-mannered students is respect. Being on time to class, participating, asking questions, not talking out of turn- just doing your job as a student in the classroom will get you noticed. As a person, being respectful will help you land positions in clubs, organizations or even on-campus jobs. A little respect goes a long way.
5. Leave Behind "I Can't": There is a great quote by John Geddes that says "The words 'I can't' are the holes I punch in the walls of my psyche." Saying "I can't" is only going to damage your confidence and hold you back. I say this to myself all the time, and yet somehow, I come through in the end and prove that I, in fact, can do the very thing I thought I couldn't. What I am trying to say is this- the words "I can't" should be banned from everyone's vocabulary. Period.
6. Pack "I Can and I Will": This is probably the most important item on the whole list, and it probably took me the longest to learn. I sometimes felt like I wasn't a good enough, smart enough, talented enough student; that I was "less than" others. But, over the course of this year, I am starting to see a shift in myself. I am finally starting to see that I am a good student, I am smarter that I believed I was, I am talented at what I do, and I am not less than others. I am me. I can do all things that I put my mind to, and I will do them. I am more than capable of achieving my dreams, and I have already seen how my efforts, in combination with the professors and guidance of this college, are coming together and laying out the path that will lead me to my goals. I can reach my goals, and I most certainly will reach them.
As you can see, there are a few major things that should be left in the past and things that should be brought into the future. In looking back on this year, I see very clearly all the ways that I have grown. I came to college a scared, homesick girl, wondering if this was the right place for me. After a year of ups, downs, and everything in between, I am certain that I am in the right place. Too many things have happened to me this year that point to this conclusion. I know for sure that I am here for a reason, and that this "reason" I am speaking of is probably far greater than anything I can dream up for myself.
Oprah Winfrey has this great quote that I often think about. She said, "God can dream a bigger dream for you than you can dream for yourself." When I think about this in relation to my life, I realize one thing that gives me chills every time: I think God dreamed up something pretty big for me...
-That Dreaming University Girl
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