The end of school is coming up quickly, summer is almost here. For those graduating it is a time of excitement, knowing they will be embarking on a new adventure whether going off to school or beginning work. Regardless of what the future holds they are currently united in celebrating the end of an era, high school.
I personally graduated six years ago. I remember how I felt as I wondered if my future plans were the right ones. I honestly had no idea what I wanted to do and simply chose something that interested me. I ended up only applying to one school; I talked about going to others, but didn't actually bring myself to apply to them. I wasn't too worried about getting in, I was a bit of a keener in high school, and I was accepted into a Bachelor of Science with a combined degree of a Bachelor of Education. My random goal in life was to become a math teacher.
So, September finally came after graduating and off I went to university. I soon discovered high school didn't prepare you at all for university. It was so different. When speaking with a professor they wouldn't know your name or seem to care if you were struggling. You were a university student, so figure it out yourself.
I won't lie to you, that first year was a struggle. I passed all of my classes, mostly with C's which was actually devastating to someone who had A's in high school. I didn't tell my parents until my third year university that I had actually failed a final exam in my first year, first semester. It had brought me down an entire letter grade, but I had still passed.
The next semester I was on the phone with my family often as I discovered I was actually failing two classes. As I mulled over life, I discovered that this wasn't what I wanted and ended up dropping both classes. I felt as though I was giving up, but really I was simply trading something I didn't love for something I did as I switched my major that day to history. One of my friends switched majors three times only to discover her passion was hair dressing and she left university for a different type of schooling.
People kept telling me D's get degrees, but I felt as though I was a failure. It was embarrassing to me and I felt as though I couldn't hack it, but I wasn't going to drop out. Luckily with my switch to history things began to come together. My second year was still a struggle, but a change came with a professor explaining I maybe shouldn't take a second class with him as I did poorly in a previous one.
I don't know if he was somehow aware of what my reaction would be, but this changed everything. I became mad at him for saying I couldn't make it in his class and took it as a challenge, I didn't switch out and ultimately him saying I couldn't inspired me to prove him wrong, to prove I wasn't a slacker because that was what he implied.
It took me two years to figure out how university worked and a few main points include:
Never be ashamed of a low mark as long as you've tried your best.
Your plans and future might change based on your marks, but don't be afraid to choose a new dream because sometimes things just don't work out. I personally thought I'd be a teacher, but because of my poor marks in my first two years I couldn't get into the Education program in Lethbridge. Though I could have after my last two years, it was no longer what I wanted, so don't be afraid of change because it is true when one door closes another will open.
There are ways to make your dreams happen, but you might not find them out until it's too late. Don't dwell on this, but move forward. As I was getting the academic adviser to sign off on my switch out of a combined degree, she stated I should have taken easy classes with certain professors as opposed to the difficult classes with tough markers. Every professor I had taken a class from was considered the hardest markers in their discipline. In my eyes I was there, able to choose classes based on what intrigued me yet apparently this was wrong.
Professors will learn your name. Go and ask questions pertinent to the class or clarification on an assignment because many do care about their students, some not so much, but there will be many who do.
Life doesn't always work out the way we have planned when we were in high school, but as long as you put effort and hard work into what you do something else will always appear.
English was my least favourite class and today still would be as I can't interpret poems, apparently my interpretations were always wrong. I still can't understand how this is, if you've asked my opinion on what the meaning is in a poem then as long as I support it how can it be wrong? But, I digress.
I would have never guessed, however, that in six years I would be sitting in my office, in Carlyle, working for a newspaper. I had thought about joining the RCMP, teaching, or even becoming a forensic pathologist, but never journalism. So, although life doesn't always work out ideally according to our plan, it can still develop into something amazing. Do your best, but never be discouraged by what the results of your best are.
