Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Let's Get Real : Talking College

Right after high school I attended a 4 year University, like most kids do. And like most kids, I think I only did it because I didn't know what else to do and college was the "normal" progression. You go to high school, college, graduate, get a real job and get married right? Right. Well, to be honest, I think if I had really thought about what I wanted to do back then I probably wouldn't have went to school. It's not like I didn't like school, in fact I was a really good student, always made A's and B's and loved to learn. It's just that I went through 4 (actually 5 if you want to get technical) years of school to graduate with a degree with a double major, neither of which I use in my current job, or will probably need for any job I have in the future...
 Now let me stop right here and say this isn't to say college wasn't valuable to me, it just wasn't valuable in the sense that it guided me towards any sort of career.

In fact, college was essential to my growth as a person. Ever since I can remember I was a super shy person. So shy, in fact, that I wore glasses I didn't even need for several months in my younger years because I was too shy to even talk to the eye doctor long enough to tell him what letters I was seeing. He therefore concluded I couldn't see them and there you have it. My shyness was so pronounced to the point that people often thought I was stuck up or weird, and I had a hard time making friends or having new experiences. By the time I was ready to set off for college, I had never even ordered a meal for myself at the drive-thru.

Imagine my shock then, when living by myself for the first time, I had to learn how to have a voice for myself. I remember the first year I lived away from campus, I slept in two sweaters and three blankets for 4 months because the heat went out in my apartment and I was too shy to call management to come fix it and my father finally refused to keep fixing things that weren't his responsibility. I definitely was not cured of my shyness overnight but I was starting to see that some things I had to just take care of on my own. I learned that if I needed things done I had to ask, and if I was going to be successful I needed to join in the community; whether that be at school, at work, or just the community as a whole. By forcing myself to come out of my shell I realized that most of the time people are more than happy to lend a helping hand, or really did want to hear what I had to say. As I felt better about myself my confidence grew and now, you'd never even realize I had a problem with being shy.

Back to the point though, college did definitely force me out of my shell, which made me into a much more confident person. I think if I had had the confidence back then that I do now I probably wouldn't have went to school. I probably would have ventured out on my own and tried to make a career for myself. But being the shy, introverted person I was, had I not went to college I probably would have ended up living at my parents house still working at the same job I had in high school. I shudder to think of it. So while college didn't steer me towards the career of my dreams, it certainly helped me become a more confident version of myself. And that alone was definitely worth it!

Tell me what your college experience was like.


2 comments:

  1. I had a similar experience. I was not super shy, but was a little. I spend only 2 years in college, but I as well do not work in that line of work at all. If i had to do it all over again I probably would not go as well, or if i did.. It would for sure be for something different like business and entrepreneurship. Like you said, it did make me grow as a person and i think helped me out in a lot of aspects of my life. Great post.

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    1. Thanks for the love! College can definitely be instrumental in helping a person define themselves and grow.

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