The senioritis has been in the air for a while, but now it’s all officially coming to an end.
These seniors are dressing up in their caps and gowns, preparing to walk across the stage and out into the real world.
Which… is the exact same thought many of us had when leaving high school.
But graduating from college is a bit different than graduating from high school. You aren’t just moving from one school to the next, you’re actually going out into the world and finding your very first full-time job.
You know, one of those jobs with health benefits and all!
This is a momentous occasion for many, followed quickly by a train of stress that’s caused from not knowing where to even begin when searching for a job.
Then you get the immediate thought of, “how, when and where can I use this degree that I just spent a fortune on getting?”
Luckily, by the time that you’re a senior and graduating, you already know why you’ve chosen your degree. It’s either a field of study that you feel very passionate about, or it’s one that is sure to guarantee you a job the minute you walk across that stage.
According to a recent study done by NACADA, most college students will at least change their major once before graduating, while some will change their majors over three times before their graduation.
“I wish that as a freshman, I knew that it was alright to be undecided. I rushed so quickly into the first major I came across, because I was so afraid I was behind all of my friends. Everyone seemed to know what their major was going to be and what career path they wanted to follow, before they even graduated high school,” senior at NC State University, Kyle Rogers said.
“Meanwhile, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I wish I could’ve taken a while longer to decide on my major, so that I wouldn’t have had to double up so insanely on my credit hours in order to make sure I graduated on time, since my initial major required much fewer credit hours.”
While some felt regret regarding the struggle they had to go through when trying to decide on their major; others wished they could’ve given freshman year them a piece of advice when dealing with truly terrible roommates.
“As a freshman, I was very shy. I was anything but confrontational. I would let my roommate do absolute crazy things because I didn’t every want to tell her to stop. I didn’t want to argue with her. She used to constantly play music loud at night, leave the lights on at all hours, slam draws early in the morning, eat oranges at 2 a.m, etc. Now, as a senior, I know that communication is key when living with someone, especially when they’re living in the same room as you,” said senior at NC State, Kelly Durham.
In the end, there’s not much that you can say to your freshman year self because all has already been said and done. You are now preparing to dress up in your cap and gown, and go out into the real world. The world of jobs, bills, marriage, and the inevitable… Student loans.
However, there is one more piece of advice that senior, Samantha Legitt – from NC State, wishes she could’ve told herself the minute she walked onto the campus her freshman year.
“Don’t worry if you feel like you don’t fit in. It’s college. It’s a time to reinvent yourself. Nobody is positive who they want to be, and if they claim to know for sure? Don’t believe them! They’ll probably be the first ones to change their major the second they get the chance. It’s okay to be different. It’s okay to experiment. But, the most important thing to remember is to always make sure that you stay true to yourself. No matter what.”
