The best four years of my life are about to come to an end. I have been very emotional for the last couple weeks thinking about graduation and going through all of the great memories that I’ve made with friends who I now consider family. I have also been going through what I have learned about myself as well as what I want to do in life during my time here at SHU.
Over the last four years, I am happy to say that I have changed my life so drastically that I will be graduating as the best possible version of myself. My time here at SHU has shown me that it might take longer than you think to find what you want to do with your life after graduation. I walked into college as an exercise science major wanting to get into the physical therapy program. Now, I enjoy journalism and want to get into the media production industry.
That is one of the most important things I learned from SHU: learning what my true passion was. Sports has always been my passion, as I’ve played and watched sports almost religiously since I was three. My parents always tell people how as soon as I get back from school, I grab some food and turn on ESPN and sit there for hours watching. I was always interested in a career in sports, but I was always nervous being on camera and I thought that was the only way to get into the sports media industry.
But as soon as I picked up a camera, edited my first video, created my first graphic, I realized that doing everything behind the camera was what I really wanted to do for the rest of my life.
I also learned how important work ethic is in college, and I learned it the hard way. Freshman year was such a struggle academically because I thought it was going to be as easy as high school. Turns out that it was not, and I cannot believe that I was capable of putting in this amount of work to earn this degree. The sleepless nights, the group study sessions, the office hours, I am so happy that I was able to kick myself in the butt and change the way I worked.
Beyond academics, college can also teach you emotionally. I came into college as a shy, hot-headed, introverted child. I am now walking out as a very social, level-headed adult, and that is something I thought I would never be able to become.
College taught me that I do not need to get mad at everything that does not go my way, because sometimes it might be for the better. There were a lot of situations where my emotions were running high, and I was able to calm myself down to get through almost every situation. In an earlier life however, I would react to those same situations so badly that I would not have the friends, opportunities, and memories that I have now.
I also learned that I am not alone, and I do not have to go through tough situations on my own. I realized that I could ask for help and also found people that have experienced what I have been through as well. I am so thankful for the people that I have met over these last four years. Even though I will be at SHU for one year of graduate school, getting my undergraduate degree will end a chapter of my life I will never forget.
