My final semester of college is approaching (by the time this article is published it will already be underway) and I, like most graduating seniors, am beginning to feel a lot of emotions. There were times when I didn’t even think I’d graduate. School has never been my thing, so taking a year off gave me a taste of what it would be like if I didn’t have my degree or a certificate or anything that would qualify me to do something other than work a minimum wage job. Getting my degree seemed like the right thing to do, and it took me some time to realize that. I'm glad that I went back to school and found a place to cultivate the remainder of my academic career. As a senior graduating in December, I am already straying from the norm, and I could rattle off a list of other reasons describing why and how I am not a “traditional college student”, but as a senior I can look back at these past collegiate years and be proud of how far I’ve come.
I’ve grown as a person in ways I never thought possible, so much so that who I was freshman year seems like a stranger to me. I tried so hard to fit in somewhere I truly didn’t belong and by doing so, I became someone I wasn’t. Now, I can see how stupid that was, but I’ve also forgiven myself for straying from the path I thought I had set out for myself.
I have come to realize that college is so, so much more than what happens inside the classroom. In fact, I would say I’ve learned and grown more outside of the classroom than I did sitting at a desk listening to a professor. College teaches you about who you are as a person, it makes you think about who you want to be, and if you let it, college can push you in positive ways to try new things.
As a senior, with only one semester left, this is my last chance to soak in everything that college has to offer. One of my favorite quotes states, “I love who I am because I fought hard to be her,” and that is a quote I stand by and truly feel applies to me. I have worked so hard on myself these past four plus years and now I’m not afraid to give it all I’ve got for this last semester. I leaped out of my comfort zone and joined the Cross Country team, I became a certified Spinning Instructor, I fell in love, I made some amazing friends, all because I learned to love myself first. Now that I know who I am, I can unapologetically be myself - and I really mean that.
When I graduate and I have that diploma in my hand, I can be proud not only because I graduated college, but because I am proud of the person receiving the diploma. I’m proud to be myself.
