Finding yourself through the process of college is exciting. SRU offers many resources including Success Coaches, the Office of Career and Education Development, Student Counseling Center and more that can help you work through those changes in life.
Making the transition from high school to college can be nerve-wracking. Change is different, and different can be scary. Pushing through the anxious feelings and understanding that change can open doors to new opportunities and personal growth is predominant.
I decided to move five hours away from home and attend Slippery Rock University in 2018. Moving five hours away and living away from my parents and family was a tough pill to swallow, but I knew deep down I needed to branch out of my comfort zone.
I initially found SRU because of the Women’s Lacrosse program. I committed to the team in 2018 and decided to study integrated marketing communication. This was exactly how I thought my college career was going to play out and I was excited for the new opportunities.
In the spring of 2019, I tore my ACL and continued to work hard post-surgery, but in February of 2020, I decided it was time to let go of lacrosse. I pushed through the next few months until COVID-19 hit and our season ended. In March of 2020, I decided I was going to graduate a semester early, and in June of 2020, I quit the lacrosse team, and in December of 2020, I joined The Rocket.
To say 2020 was a year of changes for me is an understatement. The year of 2020 was a lifestyle change, a mindset change, a motivation change. 2020 was the year of me deciding to choose me. Deciding to leave lacrosse and the athlete life I had known forever was scary, but it was the best change I could have made for myself.
Now in 2021, I can say whole heartly you can never plan how your life is going to go, and that starts with college. I went into my college career thinking I knew exactly how it was going to play out. But here, three years later, it has not happened as I expected.
As you are transitioning into college, embrace the change. Although change brings these unwanted feelings, it can end up being something that opens your eyes to aspects of yourself you have not thought about. Whether you are dealing with a change of major or field of study, struggling to find the club or organization that best suits you, or playing a sport or working a job that you truly do not feel happy in, remember that the change is happening in everyone’s lives around you.
These situations make us think of what could be, or what could have been. From experience, embrace those thoughts. Talk about them out loud and turn those thoughts into conversations. The support and conversations with those around you can make a huge difference. When you admit that the situation you are in is not best for you, and make that change, then you are opening the doors to many opportunities for you to grow.
