Mayday, Mayday! Change Ahead!
Let me begin by saying that it is mind boggling to me how fast the direction of your life can change. Good or bad. But in this case, it’s good. Also, gird your loins and pass this post over if you don’t want to read about my college saga…
I believe I have to admit that I am a fickle person. And that particular characteristic has greatly inhibited me in deciding who or what I want to be when I grow up. I entered community college in 2009 as a terrified homeschool graduate who thought she might want to be a writer or columnist for the newspaper. So, communications was my chosen study. Until an invitation to model in the college’s fashion show changed my mind about my career plans. By the fall of 2010, I was a slightly more confident student who had changed her major to fashion. To be honest, I thrived in the program and loved all the opportunity to create and be creative. I graduated with my Associates degree in Fashion Merchandising in December 2011. I took the following spring semester off and interned at a small clothing boutique in Rochester, and kind of hated it. But I will say I taught myself a lot of new skills. I did a good deal of changing in those few months. I was accepted into Buffalo State’s Fashion program, but something about fashion just wasn’t interesting to me anymore. After a few confusing months of trying to figure out my life, I decided I wanted to try my hand at Digital Art like my younger brother, Luke, was pursuing. The cool tricks and programs he used got me excited and interested in a different career path. So, I again entered community college in the Fall of 2012. Over the past two semesters I have lived out my days as a disgruntled and embarrassed student and 21 year old still at community college. Mortified to tell people I had changed my mind yet AGAIN and still had not moved on to a four-year school. In November of last year, Luke and I attended an open house at RIT. For the first time in awhile, I had direction; a goal to work towards. I wanted to go to RIT and get my bachelors degree in Graphic Design. Over this past spring semester, I have busted my buns to make that happen. And on April 12th, I had a portfolio review meeting with the director of the program to assess my work and see if I was RIT-worthy. I was not optimistic as I walked out of that meeting. Not only had I cut my finger and bled all over the inside of my pocket, but I was almost 100% certain I had not gotten in. The next two weeks passed slowly. On April 23rd, Luke found out he had been accepted and that was super exciting! Meanwhile I was trying not to be sulky (and failing miserably) because I assumed we would’ve found out on the same day. I began re-plotting my future course, I even re-applied to Buff State for their Graphic Design equivalent. But for some reason I decided to hold out on paying the application fee. And I am so glad I did, because on April 25th at 1:30pm I screamed bloody murder…because I found out that I had, in fact, been accepted to RIT for Graphic Design. I feel terrible for scaring my mother to death with the scream, but that was literally one of the best moments of my life. Anyone can relate to me when I say it is awesome to get something that you have genuinely worked very hard for.
The real reason I wanted to write all this is mainly because I am hoping to speak to young adults and students my age who feel confused about the future and can’t decide who they want to be. I’m not saying I have it all figured out, because Lawd knows I DO NOT. But I will say that it is of the utmost necessity to be patient. Most of us do not go into college knowing exactly what we want to do. We change and so do our interests and skills. Sometimes I wish I could go back to 2009 and know what I know now, but then I think of all the people I wouldn’t meet and the skills and experiences I wouldn’t get. Life is a bizarre puzzle and when we are handed the individual pieces they rarely make sense, but years down the road when the puzzle has more pieces it begins to look like something. All this is to say, don’t be afraid to change your mind, maybe just not as many times as I did! Embrace your open future and enjoy the journey, and as a very wise woman once told me, never settle for less.
Awesome, so let’s move on to some pictures, enough of these confounded words!
