Every day I walk around my college campus and I hear people that are discouraged by the fact that they are fifth or even sixth year seniors. I want you to know that if that's you that it's okay! I'm going to tell you about my story and how I became a sixth year college senior.

In high school during your senior year you have many decisions to make. What you want to wear to graduation, who you want to go to prom with, but more importantly what you plan to do once you graduate. I graduated high school in June of 2011. For me at that time, I didn't have a broad range of options. I hadn't applied myself in high school to a point that I had schools to pick from. My parents told me I could apply to four year schools but with a GPA of just under a 2.3 and not a long list of extracurriculars, the chances of me going to a four year school were sort of slim. My parents told me that I could either go to community college and live at home for free, or I could go into the workforce and pay monthly to live at home.

I reluctantly chose community college, but I decided that I wanted to make college everything that high school was not for me. I attended Northern Virginia Community College or NOVA as we the students call it. I did decently my first semester. I played volleyball on the college team which in the community college setting is considered NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association). I was in a short play, I was working at a health club and I helped start a club and took on the role of vice president. I was busy and that really helped me organize my time which was something I hadn't really mastered in high school. I began to realize that even though I may have not wanted to attend NOVA at first, my time at NOVA would become something that I would cherish.

Fast forward to 2016. The last few year for me have been a whirlwind and time has flown by. I ended up taking a year off to pursue two internships with the Walt Disney Company, I repeated classes because I chose not to study, I had knee surgery in 2012 and then a little over a year later I had ankle surgery, I worked a ton, and I also had a lot of fun. I have had a chance to meet some really amazing people, and I've formed friendships with people that I now consider family. I have transferred to Virginia Wesleyan College and I am studying Recreation and Leisure Studies on a Management Track. Even though it took a little longer for me to get to where I am and it wasn't always an easy road, I learned a-lot about myself and I know I'm on the right path. I wanted to sum up my experience by making a list of 10 things that I have learned while on my journey.

1. It's okay to take a year off of school.

2. Life is a surprise, you may have a plan but that plan may get derailed and you need to be okay with that. Back up plans are a top notch thing to carry in your back pocket.

3. Don't sweat the small stuff.

4. You can choose to be happy, life is also all about perspectives and how you react to situations that you are placed in.

5. People will try to rob you of your joy, don't let them.

6. This is your life, nobody else's. Make sure at the end of the day the choices that you make, are ones that you are proud of.

7. Community college is what you make it to be. It can be fun and it really does save a lot of money.

8. Pay attention to the small stuff around you, sometimes putting down the phone makes you realize just how much you're missing when your eyes are glued to a screen.

9. Even though those shoes are so cute, save the money. Unless your shoes have holes, do you really need them?

10. Lastly, pick and choose your battles.

Some final thoughts. College, just like anything else you do is a journey. You may think there is a right way to do college and to some extent there is. College is expensive and you shouldn't slack off and fail. However life really does happen. You blink and in an instant you're 50 years old. You should enjoy this time in your life!

Sometimes I get a little upset when I realize most of my high school friends have moved on to the next stage of their life but then I also realize how much I've gained from taking the extra time that I have. Nobody can take this journey for you. If you're working because you didn't feel like college was the right path for you then that's okay. You're doing something and you're working on yourself and that is something to be proud of! Never stop learning, achieving and going after your dreams. At the end of the day we all want something to strive for. I'll be graduating in May of 2017 and I'm very excited! I'm ready to see what the next chapter of my life holds. For all you readers I wish you the best of luck and I hope your journey takes you on an adventure as well so you can look back and smile at all that you've done. As Gary Allen would say, "Life isn't always beautiful, but it's a beautiful ride!"