I’m Not Graduating The Way I Thought I Would

I’m not ending my last semester of college the way I thought I would. I overestimated myself and my ability to balance my heavy work schedule with my classes, and my GPA suffered a great deal as a result. I doubt I’m graduating on time, and I was unsuccessful at trying to bring Greek Life to my campus. So many of the friendships I’ve made have faded if not entirely disappeared. Nothing is quite going as planned, or the way that I thought I wanted it to.

It’s easy to look at all you didn’t accomplish and forget what you actually did.

I’m on my third internship. I’m working on a presidential campaign, and was offered a full time job that I was forced to decline. I’m attending my third political conference in March. I’m starting a chapter of Turning Point USA at my school. I’ve started and maintained a decent blog where I talk about more than smoothie recipes and what I wore, and contribute to three online publications.

It’s important not to let what could have been interfere with what could be. There’s nothing you can do about deadlines or opportunities you’ve missed but learn from the experience. There’s a reason that the people that are in your life are there and the reason the people that aren’t aren’t. It can be a tough pill to swallow, but the faster you do, the better.

As my college career is coming to a close, I’d like to believe that everything will work itself out. I’d like to believe that somehow, some way, my finances, academics, career, friendships and romances will just resolve themselves, but I know they won’t, and I’m starting to realize that that’s not the end of the world.

I’m not graduating with a 4.0 GPA, a job offer, a fiance, all of my prospective bridesmaids picked out, or any vague idea of what the next few years has in store for me. But I am graduating confident in who I am and who I can be.

As much as I wish I could change about my college experience, I’m starting to genuinely believe that everything actually happens for a reason, and that if you learn the right lessons from your mistakes, they lead you to exactly where you’re meant to be.