By Ian Jones
As the school year grinds to a halt, many of your classmates are preparing to graduate or transfer, and if you’re sticking around LPC a little longer, you might be thinking, “I should be up there on the stage with them. I should be transferring, too. Why am I stuck here?”
Three points …
First, don’t ‘should’ on yourself. It’s important.
“Stuck here?” Seriously? Las Positas is a great school. See the list of successful alumni elsewhere in this issue.
I know it’s easier said than done, but take a breath. Life is far too stressful as it is without voluntarily adding more to your plate.
I’m a pretty firm believer in taking your time, especially when it comes to making decisions that may impact the rest of your life. If you give yourself permission to play around and find what you’re really interested in, you’ll be better off, mentally, in the long run.
Don’t misunderstand me – I am not saying “slack off and don’t study.” Not studying will end in disaster.
What I’m saying is, don’t be afraid to take the time to explore your interests, otherwise you could find yourself ending up in a career that doesn’t really do anything for you, other than pay the bills. What’s the point of that?
Why torture yourself, if it’s something you don’t really care about? Follow your passion. If you don’t know what that is yet, maybe that’s a sign you ought to explore.
I know not everyone has that option, due to insurance requirements and whatnot, but I highly encourage it if you’re able.
To the people who are able to take your time, but instead choose to push yourselves to the brink of burnout for no other reason than impatience, I’m going to be blunt here.
What are you doing?
You’re stressing out, and as a result, you’re going to miss out on a lot of life, and I’d be willing to bet, happiness. Don’t make a dumb mistake you’ll regret.
When I started college, I thought I was going to be a psychology major. I was ready to hit the ground running. That was until I started writing for the Express, which I turned out to be much more interested in.
My passion turned out to be writing and photography – which eventually led to me winning two writing awards, one state-wide. If I hadn’t questioned myself, I could be hidden in some research lab somewhere, watching rats and, honestly, yawning right about now. It’s great if that’s something that interests you, but it doesn’t me.
To make a long story short, there should be no shame in taking your time in college.
After all, it’s not a race. It’s your life, your future, and you want to make sure you’re going to end up where you want to be.
If you rush through it, ironically, you won’t put enough care into your studies, and your skillset will suffer as a result.
