Words to the Undergrads

So below is what I wrote on Facebook to my friends still in school at CLU or any university for that matter it applies to. Just some words of encouragement to get through the hard times that we face in college. 

Stressed. Overwhelmed. Confused. Ahhh!!!

So lately I've heard a lot of above from you. Let me tell you a secret -- if someone isn't feeling that way, they are probably lying to themselves or just extremely optimistic to the point that they forget about these feelings. For those of you who know me really well; you know that I am constantly ALL of those things. It's probably good that I'm not longer in college then right? WRONG. Oh man, taking a year off is definitely challenging for someone like me with a futuristic mindset who always has everything figured out.

So lets get to my words of encouragement that I tried to tell myself in school all the time. I'm sure many of you are overwhelmed with midterms, papers, extracurriculars, and future plans. Right? Right. So here are my 5 nuggets of wisdom for you:

1) What you are doing now, is a very SMALL piece of the bigger goal you have in life. Don't let yourself get bogged down by the homework, papers, and responsibilities of your extracurriculars.. You are on the current path for a reason.

2) No one said life was easy (cliche right?). But seriously, how boring would life be if everything in life was easy and you never had a challenge? I don't know about you but as much as I hate the stress, I really enjoy the feeling of accomplishment; even the accomplishment of procrastination.

3) Your grades on homework, tests, papers, and the overall semester grade are not a representation of who you are as a person. I'll tell you right now that as much as I would have loved to graduate with honors, I didn't and I'm okay with that. Why? Well, I graduated with two degrees, a 3.4 GPA, a kick-ass resume, a year of study abroad experience, and TONS more memories from CLU. That is way more important to me as it helped build the person I became -- classes and graduating were honestly just a stop on my way to my bigger future.

4) I DARE YOU, to blow off being productive for one night and do something for yourself. Hang out with your friends. Play video games. Watch movies. Heck, go out to Hollywood or the beach for a night. Guess what, you'll be okay the next day and you'll be 100x more productive because you took some time for yourself.

5) Finally, enjoy the time. With what? Everything. Trust me when I tell you, it is really different once you leave college. Remember this is a time of discovery. You don't have to know every step and do it correctly every time. We won't talk about how many times I took the same steps over and over again and still did it wrong. Don't rush the process. Sure, pull all-nighters working on homework, studying, or whatever else academically, but don't forget about pulling an all-nighter with your friends and classmates.

Remember -- you are what you choose to be. You choose how you define yourself, not the things you do or don't do. Confused? Be confused. Explore everything and realize that you have the opportunity of a lifetime right now. At this age, we can travel, study, intern, work, and do a million other things that allow us to grow. Don't grow UP...just grow. Good luck with papers, midterms, and anything else going in your life right now. Let's just say, I actually miss this feeling you all have currently!


Love A-Ram

Update: Jobs & Grad School

Sorry for being gone for so long, being unemployed for some reason is still quite busy. I've had a number of job interviews recently, but alas still no job. Part of the problem is a majority of them are part-time jobs and since I'm graduated they view it as I'm just taking anything till I find something better. In this case, they don't realize that something better is just graduate school 11 months from now. Anyways, on to more exciting news. I recently had a job interview with International Studies Abroad (ISA). I am hoping I get a second interview because this is the job opportunity of a lifetime especially for me and my confused mind. If everything works out, which I am not really sure if it will --trying to stay positive though, I would move to Austin, TX. It would be perfect since UT-Austin has a higher education program. Again, everyone keep your fingers crossed for me. 

I have finally narrowed my graduate school list to the six schools I plan on applying to for admission in Fall 2012. Here is the list for your personal viewing along with the why. Mind you, it is early October so chances that one or two can change is highly likely, but I'm hoping that is not the case. These are also ranked in order for me as well:

1. New York University - M.A in Higher Education & Student Affairs. 

• This is my number one choice for a number reasons: it's a completely different experience than my undergraduate experience. I would have the opportunity to live in a major city with lots to do all the time. The school is 15x the size of my university, and I have the opportunity to get experience at several types of schools. 
• Unfortunately, if I get into the program, the only way I'll be able to attend is if I can manage to land an assistantship in residence life and have a very good package put together. 

2. Colorado State University - M.S in Student Affairs & Higher Education

• Number two simply because it is a great program and the cohort is larger than most other well-known programs. I don't think a relatively small cohort like 8-12 people is for me. The woo in me really needs to have some options (joke). I also really like this program because there is opportunity to gain experience in Greek Life without having been a part of it. It's something that I know I won't have the opportunity to learn or gain experience in unless I had personal experience. This opportunity is huge to me. Also it's Colorado...duh. 
• Not really a down side to this program..I just hope I get in!

3. Penn State University - M.Ed in College Student Affairs

• The bonus and reason here is that they have a dual-title degree program with International & Comparative Education. This is a huge plus for me given my professional goals and aspirations as a Student Affairs & International Education professional...see how I combined those two. YUP, you'll see me soon being famous for something.
• I don't know how much University Park, PA is a place I'll be able to enjoy, we'll have to wait and see. The other down side, is the one requires the GRE and I don't know that my score will be good enough. Also, my friend's cohort is currently 6 people, it's a little small for me.

4. Michigan State University - M.A in Student Affairs Administration

• This school just kind of happened by accident on my list. It has a really interesting program, it's a large school with the D1 atmosphere I've never had. The location isn't major city, but it's a great city nonetheless. Also, the flights to Minneapolis aren't so bad. 
• Downside: It will be miserably cold -- but I mean where isn't it going to be cold that I'm applying. Also, green, is just not a color I like to wear -- then again that's how I felt about purple. We'll see!!!

5. Rutgers University - M.Ed in College Student Affairs

• This is an up and coming program at a major university. The program is already well-known after being only a few years old! It's not that far away from New York City, in the event that I can't go there. The package is not that bad financially, I wouldn't have to pay a dime the first year and the second year I wouldn't have to if I become a resident (ooh..resident of New Jersey, what up Sn00ki and JWoww)
• Downside: New Brunswick, is not the best place to be by yourself at night. I don't know how much of a problem this would be if I am trying to go out to NYC some nights!

Well, there it is, the completed list. Obviously, I'm going to need a back up plan if none of these work out but let's not think about that. My one back up school will definitely be University of Kansas though. It has a program, financial aid, and it's KU, my favorite basketball team ever!! Anyway...here's to my application process. The next step for me is ask for my letters of recommendation. This will be fun!