Just Some Thoughts About Graduation

Hey Preps!

Finals are over. I am still tired, sniffly, grumpy, and I just want to lay in my bed.  Yet, somehow I am going to muster up enough motivation to shower and go out to see some of my dearest friends.  Not yet though...not for another hour.  Then I will be scrambling to get everything together and make it to our meeting destination on time.  It's just the way things go in my life.  Just like today, I was thinking and I don't remember a single December that I wasn't sick after finals.  Sheesh! Okay so enough of my pity party.  FINALS ARE OVER! It is officially Christmas break!

Yet, today as I sit and ponder in my exhausted and emotional state...I can't help but think that I am graduating in one single semester.  If it goes by half as fast as the fall semester, it will be too fast.  I am not ready to be a grown up.  There is so much traveling, learning, and events I wish I had the chance to do.  So, since I gave advice at the beginning of this semester, I am going to give a little bit now.  Take it as you will.

1.  I shouldn't have been a Biochemistry major.  There I said it.  Have you guys ever done the Myers-Briggs personality test?  If so, you will understand this: I am ENFJ.  That stands for extraversion, intuition, feeling, judgment...It is one of 16 personality types you can be.  ENFJ's usually are connectors.  We like being social and can sense a tone within a social setting, and know how to adjust accordingly.  We are people pleasers who put others before ourselves.  There is an awareness of social situations that no other personality type has...making us perfect for business oriented fields such as marketing, advertising...anything creative and people oriented.

The sad part? I took this test my freshman year of college.  I saw what career paths were recommended of me, and I panicked.  I wanted to be a Biochemistry major, because I knew it would guarentee a stable job upon graduation.  I knew it would lead into hopefully the Medical field...and now I am looking at all the labs I dreaded, all the dry material, and have no desire to become a doctor...or work in a lab.

I have other options, like getting my MBA and have considered working in Pharmaceutical Sales for a little while before I decide what I should go to grad school for...but the advice I can give you, is do what you love...even if it doesn't always mean the outcome is a stable paycheck.  I am a firm believer that if you do what you love, then you will be successful; waking up each morning excited and passionate about your day.

Don't follow my footsteps and stick out a major you are miserable in...because chances are, you will be miserable in that field of work.

2.  Study Abroad.  I wanted to study abroad in the worst way.  There were full intentions that I would spend the summer abroad in Italy last year, however, that fell through because I was stuck doing senior research.  There are so many places I want to travel and experience...I think the best opportunity to do so is in college.  Plus, it really adds something extra to your resume.

3.  Go to a college that specializes in a field you are interested in.  I was recruited to swim Division I.  The challenge and the opportunity the scholarship provided me made me decide upon the first college I went to.  However, looking back, was it the best fit for me?  Sure, I love that university with all my heart.  I will always cherish the people and experiences within my time there, however, they did not offer the academics that would help me to go straight into a program I wanted after graduation.  If you think about it, there really is nothing I will ever do with swimming....except maybe coach.  Why would I base my whole college decision based on one single aspect that will not benefit my future?

Do I have regrets?  Absolutely not.  Life is a learning process, and I think I have time to decide on what I really want to do in my life...yet, I still can't get over the fact I only have one semester left...