I never thought college was going to ever end!! Really it wasn't
about the college experience or college life it was just paying for
classes, tuition & books but also doing the homework & late
nights pulling all-nighters for exams.After you graduate high school you feel like you're done, but reality is you're only just beginning. Entering college is preparing you for the REAL real world. I went to a community college for two years, because I had gotten in a car accident and was paying for a car & didn't want to be paying for an education when all the scholarships I had received would pay for my first two years at a community college.
After
graduating from Hill College with a Associate's Degree, I started
looking for other colleges to attend to finish my Bachelor's degree. I
applied to University of North Carolina at Charlotte, but when financial
aid came back and it was going to be $40,000 for my first year there I
was still going to have to go another year, so I decided financially I
couldn't do it, so I started looking at colleges in Texas and thought
about Houston, A&M, Tarleton, Texas Tech and there wasn't any
colleges that I really wanted to go to, except UNCC, but I chose to
University of North Texas because it was 20 minutes from Texas Motor
Speedway and that place truly makes me happy.
UNT
was only an option because of how close they were to TMS. My parents
didn't graduate from a 4 year university, they both went but never
finished, so I really didn't have ties to a college, therefore I made
ties to UNT.College isn't about making the grades and choosing a degree, but it is about making life decisions and making the best out of life with trying to attain a college degree and managing your outside life with that. 2 years at UNT was not the easiest thing in the world. My first year there I was in a sorority, lived with a girl who turned out to not be such a great roommate, changing majors and getting to do some of the neatest things at the racetrack. My second year there I left the sorority due to financial difficulties, started working a 40 hour a week job & attending full time at UNT, taking some difficult classes & managing life outside of college and really getting to experience things at the racetrack that I would have never been able to do had I not been so close to the track.
First two years moving away from my parents, family & high
school friends I wouldn't exactly give it an A, but I survived. The
summer before graduation, I didn't know if I was going to even graduate
because I had fallen behind so bad. I didn't even know the day of
graduation, I didn't find out until August 15th - 2 days after
graduation.Here I am, 4 years after taking the journey of college, a stronger person, more independent than I have ever been, enjoying a job that may not exactly be the highest paying job, but it definitely has no stress and I get to work around something that I love. I'm getting my own place and for once not have to rely on someone else to keep my place clean.
Did I ever think I'd make it to this
point in life, the answer is NO. I thought it'd take forever and here it
is and some days I think shouldn't I be studying or doing homework and
that answer is No. It's a great feeling, so I encourage everyone who
thinks they won't make it through a stressful time in your life. You
will trust me! Wanted to put a college quote, but none were worth sharing. So here's my own experience of college.
"I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I made the decision to leave home, my parents weren't there for when I needed them, when I got myself into pickle situations. I had to step back and figure out which road to take. I made mistakes and I made some of the best decisions, if I could do it all again, I'd change the mistakes, but I wouldn't live through college again. Truly it made me stronger, but sometimes that road looked dark and finally found the light."
