Use your College Time Wisely

Remember when your parents told you to dream big and finish your education? It's a message that seems universal with young adults around the world. The goal of finishing your higher education is pushed along the walk of life.

Even after having the college goal engraved into my way of thinking, I still had to make sure college was right for me. I couldn't imagine spending that much money for a four year process that would leave me depressed. Second guessing the college path would turn into a story similar to this...

You're applying for a job and a possible employer is sorting through hundreds of faceless applications. Many of them seem similar as they contain experience at previous jobs and as well as your credentials. Two piles begin to stack up, interview candidates and the passed over pile. How are they separated? No degree? Automatic pass. 

Various professors and family members have told me that a college degree will help get me into that interview pile. And they're right, it is important to establish yourself while in college because no degree in this world will spell out what kind of person you are on those applications. Your personality is simply unaccounted for.

Who knows, along the way you may discover new things about yourself. After all, college is supposed to be about independence (not entirely true for me) and finding out what kind of person you want to be.

Looking back on these years, I've learned it's best to soak up as much as you can like a sponge. No, not just the material you crammed for in that last exam, but the experience itself. Establishing effective time management skills, communicating with students and professors, finding ways to come up with the $160 for a parking pass, etc.

Learning to build relationships and network are important skills to establish because you will build upon that foundation as you start a new journey. Depending on how much you've worked at them, these relationships may follow you for the rest of your life. They can make the job search process that much easier.

The opportunities that present themselves in upper education are endless, but they're not going to just drop in my lap, and that's probably the most important thing I have learned.  Ed McMahon is not going to knock on my door and give me a stable career along with the winnings from the Clearing House Sweepstakes.

It just doesn't work like that, and that's something I struggled with after my first year. In the three years since, I've learned that it's not just about the grades, it's about the experiences. It's simple, but understanding that can go a long way.

Now when you look at the $20,000+ student loans that burned a hole through your pocket, I hope you can certainly say that investment in yourself was worth it.

Balancing School and Family Crisis

As the first week comes to a close, I can't help but feel relieved. All week I struggled to get back into the groove of things as it felt like the summer switch never really turned off.

Spending three months in Panama City, FL will do that to you. The beach, the pool and baseball sums up my summer quite nicely.

In my first semester as a senior, I was not ready to get back into my Sac State routine. Fighting off students trying to get into full classes and parking structures felt all too familiar, but one can only hope things will settle down in the coming weeks. Last semester it felt like things never did quite settle down, as the parking structure was always overflowed with students. I chuckle when I think about spending $160 on a parking pass that doesn't even guarantee you a spot. Ah, Sac State.

Surprisingly, I got into all the classes that I wanted, and for the first time I am taking on a 21 unit schedule. It is intimidating, but it's necessary if I want to get out of here by the summer. Knowing that I'm only a few classes away from graduating makes me feel better about it.

On top of the newly added stress from school, there is also the lingering stress that remains from my vacation. How can Panama City be stressful? Well, my grandmother and 11-year-old cousin were both struck with serious health issues. In June, my grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer and it was far enough along that action needed to be taken. She is now undergoing chemotherapy and has already had breast removal surgery.

My cousin Olivia had been complaining of headaches for the past few months and most of the family believed it was probably time to get glasses, including myself. I was about her age when I began complaining about the same problems. That's what happens when you sit two feet away from the television for hours at a time.

Turns out it was a lot worse than that.

The optometrist she visited said her vision was fine and recommended an MRI scan. After the MRI, the doctor dropped a bomb on the family. He discovered a cancerous tumor growing inside her brain.

Wait, what? An 11-year-old girl?

Yep, just two weeks after the diagnosis of my grandmother.

Since her diagnosis two months ago, she has gone through two surgeries and is slated to have another one today because of a small bleed in her brain that has not healed correctly. She is already missing her first week of school and there's no timetable on her return as of yet. Most of her semester will be spent in a wheelchair as she gets dizzy when she walks around too much.

It's so easy to take life for granted, but now I have seen what can happen in just the span of days.

As the semester goes on and the homework piles up, I am hoping I can find a balance between school and family life. If there is one course that becomes too much, I won't hesitate to drop it. I do want to finish school but I also want be there for the family. Luckily, they live in Long Beach it isn't too bad of a drive every couple of weeks.

Sorry for the serious tone on my first blog, but it's all that has really been on my mind. Achieving a balance between the two will be the key to my success this semester.