Yep, I’m one of those. I am one of those who undoubtedly failed to graduate and get that degree on time. But did I really fail, though? Allow me to answer that – No! I do not consider being a fifth-year senior a failure in any way. For me, being able to have this extra year in college is my second chance at being a senior (a more responsible one), and it is a second chance for me to be more prepared for the real world.
When I first came to college as a doe-eyed little international student, I really had no priorities. I just wanted to get the most out of college, just like I had seen in Hollywood movies, because I was finally granted the freedom I had dreamed of as a kid living in a conservative Muslim country. I didn’t exactly plan on being a fifth-year senior, but it was never my priority to graduate from college as fast as I can, and I definitely wasn’t in any kind of rush to have my whole life figured out. I just wanted to enjoy the journey.
Don’t get me wrong, all those intelligent college graduates (*cough* overachievers *cough*) who managed to complete their degree in less than four years, with a perfect GPA while working two jobs, are definitely admirable in my eyes. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t just a little jealous of them. However, I think it is okay that it took me longer, because I gained many valuable life lessons and memories that I wouldn't have had the chance to experience if I was living my life in fast-forward.
The biggest reason why I decided to take an extra year was because, by the end of my four years in college, I realized I was nowhere near being the kind of college graduate I had envisioned myself to be. I wasn’t qualified for the kind of job I pictured myself having, and I simply wasn’t ready for the real world.
Throughout the course of four years, I was a good student. I joined a sorority, became part of student congress and several other organizations, founded a whole new organization on campus, and got elected to be part of the homecoming court during my junior year. I can confidently say that I have been part of almost every major organization on campus and held leadership positions in each of them, so I was relatively well known on campus. I was happy. However, because of my commitments to all these organizations, I took a minimal course load and I didn’t bother to do summer school.
Additionally, halfway through junior year, I decided to change my major from Business to Public Relations. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, and frankly I wasn’t too worried till I had a chat with my advisor. When I went to speak to my advisor, he let me know that I would only need a semester extra to graduate, but I voluntarily decided to stay the whole year so I could position myself in a better place after graduation.
The summer before I began my journey as a super senior, I decided that it was finally time I got my act together. I was no longer the thirsty freshman excited to experience my ‘firsts’ in college, nor was I the anxious senior dying to make my ‘lasts’ in college last any longer than they should. Not too many events on campus really tickled my fancy, because the ‘been there, done that’ attitude had already been instilled in me and I was ready to focus on the more important things.
I always knew I wanted to be successful, just like everyone in college aspires to be, but before then, I hadn’t really put much thought into how I was going to get there. I know I only had a year, but I was determined to make things happen.
My priorities shifted to getting ready for a career after college -- something I really should have done since the beginning of college! I visited the career center and made a list of all the things I needed to accomplish in order for me to have an impressive resume and boatload of meaningful experiences by the end of the year. I realize I didn’t just want to be a PR major; I wanted to add another major, or at least a minor, so that I had more credentials.
Additionally, I knew I needed at least two internships in the bag before I graduated in order for me to be a decent candidate for any job after college. The ideal situation was that one of those internships would turn into a full-time job by the time I was ready to get out of college. I talked to my family, friends, professors, and any contacts I had to finalize a list of places I would apply to. And so I started applying... EVERYWHERE.
Sure enough, hard work pays off. Before school started, I had made more progress than I had in all the previous four years combined. I got hired as the Editor-in-Chief of the Odyssey AND I got an internship with the Vice President of Student Affairs at UTA. I don’t know how I landed either one of them in such a short amount of time, but all those extra-curricular activities that people said I was 'wasting' my time on actually helped me more than I knew it could. In addition, I added a Business and Psychology minor to my curriculum, and I will be able to finish my minors and my PR major by the time I need to graduate. If all that wasn't amazing enough, I rented a beautiful townhome by myself and I adopted my very first pet. Her name is Lola and she’s a gray calico kitty and she's the best (just in case anyone was wondering).
All in all, I am only half way through the first semester of my fifth year, and I already know that I have grown more as a person in the last two months than I did during my entire college career. I am living alone, I have an internship and a job and a full course load to keep me busy! I still have more to accomplish next semester, but for now, I am very happy with where I am. And I wouldn’t have been able to do any of it if I didn’t get this extra year. I am much calmer knowing I will have more to offer when I graduate next May than I would have if I had graduated on time.
Moral of the story? It doesn’t matter how long you take to reach your goal. What matters is that you reach it and you do it in a manner that is most appropriate and beneficial for you.
