When I entered college, I brought the majority of the issues I had in high school with me. I put myself in uncomfortable situations so I could get rid of them. Here are the life-changing moments in college that made me grow.
After my embarrassing high school came the life-changing moments in college. A lot of things happened in college that changed my life. This post is about that.
I intentionally made mistakes back then; I allowed myself to fail because I wanted to grow. I didn’t like myself before college.
Here are the life-changing moments in college that made me grow:
- I was a working student for three semesters.
- I failed one subject for the first time since I was born in this world.
- I spoke in public or in front of many people many times.
- I stayed in a dormitory for weeks.
- I studied at a school over 30 kilometers away from our house.
Let’s begin.
5 Life-Changing Moments in College That Made Me Grow
My college life was better than my high school life, but I still don’t consider it the best era in my life. I think the life I have right now is the best as I feel “me.”
I don’t hide anything. I am comfortable being uncomfortable. I know I deserve what I have because I worked for it. I have money to spend. I can do whatever I want.
I think I am meant to be an independent contractor because it feels normal. If I were destined to be somewhere else, I wouldn’t have been this happy and content.
In other words, not pursuing a career in law is one of the best decisions I made.
Since then, I have been feeling that I want to be a leader. Not necessarily being in a leadership role at a company but just having this much control over my life.
Working for myself was difficult at the start because I came from a place of security (from a full-time job) and insecurity (not enough self-confidence).
However, it became easy many mistakes later. It took me over a year to have a solid direction. Honestly, it was confusing in the beginning.
According to Oprah Daily, what differentiates taking a leap of faith from making a foolish decision is motivation: If you do it out of love, you will likely make a good landing on the other side.
I am happy because I am able to start new and manage existing projects, which are mostly writing-centered. I write on different platforms, some I own.
Being a writer was my dream, but because I didn’t know it was possible, I decided to want to be a lawyer.
But whenever my friends asked me what I wanted to do after college, I always said that I wanted to make money blogging. *inhales* I am living the dream!
We don’t know what will happen in the future. But if you simply start and believe that things will go right, they will go right provided that you do the right things.
I believe, however, that not everyone is cut out for a one-person journey. If you want to take a leap of faith, make sure that you can handle the turbulence.
Sometimes, you are lucky, thanks to the universe. Most of the time, you create your own luck. If other people don’t give you what you want, give it to yourself.
It was my dream to be promoted. But no one wanted to give it to me, so I gave it to myself. I became empowered when I did.
And that is the story of how I dared to work under no one.
When I entered college, I brought the majority of the issues I had in high school with me. I put myself in uncomfortable situations so that I could get rid of them.
Here are the life-changing moments in college that made me grow!
1. I was a working student for three semesters.
I think being a working student was my most life-changing moment in college.
Before I enrolled in the school, I was aiming to be an academic scholar because I thought I could maintain high grades. I also wanted my parents to pay smaller fees.
Unfortunately, when they evaluated my high school grades, they thought I didn’t have what it takes to be an academic scholar. That was fine.
They recommended being a student assistant. The tuition fee would be free, and I would need to pay only for the miscellaneous fees and others.
I grabbed it. And then when the semester started, I was assigned to the elementary library. I was surrounded by elementary students at the time. It was fun.
After the semester, there was a reshuffling.
I was assigned to the office of the president of the school, and I stayed there until I was disqualified as a student assistant in October of 2014.
Indeed explains that student assistants do administrative tasks for school administrators. These are working students who work at the school where they are enrolled.
I had to have grades over 80%. I had grades below that. But no big deal because I didn’t want to be a working student anymore. I wanted to live normally.
I am grateful for that experience because, especially when I was assigned to the highest office, my people skills improved. I was surrounded by powerful people.
I also had a mean boss at the time, but not in a toxic way. She actually helped me become resilient at a young age. She was scary, but I am grateful for her.
We are on good terms. She flew to Canada in early 2014, and before she left, we kind of had a deep conversation. And then I thanked her for helping me grow.
The boss who replaced her was a guy, and he was different. He was so kind, so we got along. We were like friends at the time, but with boundaries.
2. I failed one subject for the first time since I was born in this world.
When I was in high school, I was doing okay academic-wise. I even realized I was good at mathematics, so I majored in civil engineering in my first three semesters.
The first year was easy because the subjects were basic. But when I entered my second year, I had physics and calculus. I failed at physics.
At the time, I was contemplating. Was I for engineering or not? I decided I was not, so I changed majors and I became a political science student.
I was torn between journalism and political science. But I thought that I could still be a professional writer even without a writing-related degree.
Years later, I was right!
Mediabistro says that journalists write about current events, mostly political ones. So, having a political science degree is not a dealbreaker. If you can do journalistic writing, you can be in this field.
But when I failed one subject for the first time in my life, failing at other subjects felt okay to me. I failed one more subject but as a political science student.
I realized that grades are just grades and not a determinant of your capabilities. It may show that you are not good at something, but it never means you are a failure.
It is messier in college than in high school. High school is less flexible. You are almost always on the same page as others.
In college, you can have incomplete grades, and you need to complete the requirements before a deadline.
You may also want to take certain subjects now and others later.
You have more options. You can graduate in four years or take it slowly and extend it for one more year. People may judge you, but that is not unusual.
3. I spoke in public or in front of many people many times.
One of the life-changing moments in college that helped me overcome my anxiety and shyness was public speaking.
I had severe anxiety many years ago, and I cried whenever I was put in a situation where I was the center of attention. Public speaking was scary!
But I switched to a major that was heavy in public speaking, so I had to overcome it if I wanted to pass the subjects. I spoke in public places. I argued with panelists.
In this post by US News, political science majors study the political aspects of society. Political science is a field of social sciences.
Political science was also loaded with thesis and research papers, and we needed to defend our papers and explain why we thought we were right or reasonable.
I still had moments when I cried due to too much pressure and panic attacks, but those were part of the journey.
At present, I get nervous if someone tells me to talk about something I don’t have enough knowledge about. But if I know the subject, no problem.
Preparation is important in my life. I am a writer by profession, and that involves research. I need to sort the information in my mind before I can make sense.
4. I stayed in a dormitory for weeks.
I think I lasted only a few weeks because I was not used to being away from my family. I remember that I cried in front of my friends because I wanted to go home.
I was not the type of person who enjoyed the nightlife except on a few occasions, so I didn’t desire to live outside of our home. I didn’t need too much freedom.
I also thought I was too young to live alone with people I was not comfortable with.
Science of People explains what a comfort zone is and shares ways to be comfortable outside it.
I was with my cousin in the room, but I liked being with my family. I was not ready to live independently at 16 or 17.
My cousin and I had other roommates. They became our friends, but I was not in my comfort zone, so I didn’t enjoy my time there. I went home.
If I had stayed for longer, I might have become liberated because it was in Manila. Manila is the capital of the Philippines, and everything is intense there!
I have been liking living in the province where it is quieter and more peaceful. I don’t think I will last in a loud city.
5. I studied at a school over 30 kilometers away from our house.
I lived in a province over 30 kilometers away from Manila.
I didn’t want to stay in a dormitory, so I had to wake up three hours before the first class and take public transit at night.
I was coming late to the class and other school events!
According to Live Science, if someone is often late, it affects their relationship with those who expect them to be at a certain time.
It was a bit stressful, but two of my close friends in college lived in the north of Manila. We were taking the train together at around 8:30 in the evening.
We created great memories together during those nights. Sometimes, we were eating noodles or staying at a cafe, and then we would jump on the train at 10.
Back then, I was so brave to walk at night even though I was more vulnerable because I wore a skirt. But now, I am hesitant to do that even if I wear pants.
Last Words
I also think that one of the life-changing moments in college was when I became a college student. College students experience many different things.
In college, failing subjects is more normal than in high school. Going out with friends and doing adult things with them is also fine.
I actually first tasted alcohol in college.
The campus is also bigger, and it means you will meet many people with different behaviors, goals in life, and backgrounds.
You might also meet your first love there. College students are quite young to be foolish when it comes to love, but old enough to have serious feelings.
What are your life-changing moments in college?
If you enjoyed reading the life-changing moments in college that made me grow, here is a video of me sharing more things that happened in my college:
