Why College is Making Me the Happiest I Have Been in a Long Time
Start writing a post
Health and Wellness

Why College is Making Me the Happiest I Have Been in a Long Time

""If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands...""

15
Why College is Making Me the Happiest I Have Been in a Long Time
YouTube

A large part of our lives is spent in a school, a place where we learn new ideas, facts, characteristics, and most importantly life lessons needed to carry us through each of our own lives. I have always loved going to school and have a natural urge to absorb everything I learn.

Kindergarten through Eighth grade was a very sheltered part of my life that allowed me to enjoy my childhood and where I started to develop into the salty teenager I was (and still can be at times.) High school was a crucial part of my life too. It is where I started to really embrace who I was as a person, and I was happy at the beginning with all freedoms that come with being a teenager. However, it was also some of the most challenging years of my life where I started to question who I was as a person and where I was going. It is also where I thought I lost the old, gleeful, untroubled, always-smiling Sophia. I did lose her for a little while and it was hard to find her once again. However, all the trials were with it because it allowed me to find myself once again.

As cliche as it might sound, College is really truly a time to find yourself. I am only a month in and can say that some of that statement is true. Being in a new environment brought out a side of me that I never really felt I should embrace. I knew this person was inside of me my whole life, but I always let fear get in the way of really knowing who I was especially as a daughter of God.

I am becoming a go-getter. I was always this before, but now it is getting stronger. I am persistent with many of the things I want for myself. I am becoming more of the outgoing person I once was a very long time ago embracing new people and new experiences. I am not sitting in my little shy shell. I am loving what I am learning and I am really applying what I am learning to what I experience in everyday life.

Most importantly, I am happy. I do not think I have had a natural happiness radiating from me in a long time. I put on a mask of happiness for a while, and I was content, but never truly happy. I embracing each day with a new set of positive eyes. I think college is really allowing for this to happen because I do not feel so much pressure as I did in high school and all the drama that comes with it. The people I have encountered in college just seem to take life day by day. There is not so much focus on the future, but rather on how you as an individual can grow as a human being to make your mark in the world, but also how you benefit your community just by being you. I think what makes me so happy here is the understanding that I can be myself. I am comfortable in my own skin and I just want to share this version of Sophia with others.

I like this person I am becoming. I feel like I am getting back to my old self again, however, I am bringing all the old Sophia’s with me because they are helping me change into the young woman I am today and the future self I did not know yet.

I am not saying that I have found myself yet because knowing yourself is an ongoing process. I am also not saying that I will not encounter struggles along the way because those are just part of being human. However, now I am happy, joyful, and lighthearted. I am grateful for the experiences that have been given to me right in this moment and may I continue to prosper doing what I was meant to do with no fear, only joy.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

Waitlisted for a College Class? Here's What to Do!

Dealing with the inevitable realities of college life.

59080
college students waiting in a long line in the hallway
StableDiffusion

Course registration at college can be a big hassle and is almost never talked about. Classes you want to take fill up before you get a chance to register. You might change your mind about a class you want to take and must struggle to find another class to fit in the same time period. You also have to make sure no classes clash by time. Like I said, it's a big hassle.

This semester, I was waitlisted for two classes. Most people in this situation, especially first years, freak out because they don't know what to do. Here is what you should do when this happens.

Keep Reading...Show less
a man and a woman sitting on the beach in front of the sunset

Whether you met your new love interest online, through mutual friends, or another way entirely, you'll definitely want to know what you're getting into. I mean, really, what's the point in entering a relationship with someone if you don't know whether or not you're compatible on a very basic level?

Consider these 21 questions to ask in the talking stage when getting to know that new guy or girl you just started talking to:

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

Challah vs. Easter Bread: A Delicious Dilemma

Is there really such a difference in Challah bread or Easter Bread?

38156
loaves of challah and easter bread stacked up aside each other, an abundance of food in baskets
StableDiffusion

Ever since I could remember, it was a treat to receive Easter Bread made by my grandmother. We would only have it once a year and the wait was excruciating. Now that my grandmother has gotten older, she has stopped baking a lot of her recipes that require a lot of hand usage--her traditional Italian baking means no machines. So for the past few years, I have missed enjoying my Easter Bread.

Keep Reading...Show less
Adulting

Unlocking Lake People's Secrets: 15 Must-Knows!

There's no other place you'd rather be in the summer.

959640
Group of joyful friends sitting in a boat
Haley Harvey

The people that spend their summers at the lake are a unique group of people.

Whether you grew up going to the lake, have only recently started going, or have only been once or twice, you know it takes a certain kind of person to be a lake person. To the long-time lake people, the lake holds a special place in your heart, no matter how dirty the water may look.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 10 Reasons My School Rocks!

Why I Chose a Small School Over a Big University.

196632
man in black long sleeve shirt and black pants walking on white concrete pathway

I was asked so many times why I wanted to go to a small school when a big university is so much better. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure a big university is great but I absolutely love going to a small school. I know that I miss out on big sporting events and having people actually know where it is. I can't even count how many times I've been asked where it is and I know they won't know so I just say "somewhere in the middle of Wisconsin." But, I get to know most people at my school and I know my professors very well. Not to mention, being able to walk to the other side of campus in 5 minutes at a casual walking pace. I am so happy I made the decision to go to school where I did. I love my school and these are just a few reasons why.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments