My Experience at a 4-Year University

On May 4th, 2018, I graduated from Winona State University from the southern town of Winona, Minnesota. Now over four months later, I feel like I'm in a state of mind where I can discuss my experiences and feelings throughout the years of attending here.

I moved to Winona State for my freshman year on August 19th in 2014. I remember being so nervous and not knowing what to expect for the following four years. Little did 18-year-old me know that the next four years were going to go by in an absolute blur. I had some fabulous memories at the end of it all but I also felt like I had more regrets than anything. But we will get to that a bit later.

Here is what you should know about what I did while in college. I lived in the residence halls all four years I was attending. I got onto the Dean's List for five semesters (my final five semesters). I worked four jobs come my senior year -- to break it down a bit more, I worked two jobs for my first two years, three for my third year and four for my final year. During my first year I joined the WSU Band and National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH) in which I later became an executive for during my third year. Within my second year, I joined the theatre department and Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). And the last and maybe one of the most important things you should know about my college career is that I wasn't always a Public Relations major. For my first semester I came in wanting to be a chemistry major, but quickly changed to something more creative that I could see doing for the rest of my life.

Look at that little freshman. So unsure about what laid ahead, but beyond excited at the same time. As I stated above, I was a chemistry major at the point this photo had been taken. Chemistry amazed me and it was always a fun challenge to me. However, due to a horrible professor and learning about other degrees I did not know I wanted until I heard about them. I later switched over the Mass Communications department and became a Public Relations major. At that time, I also declared a double minor in Theatre and Sociology. Both of those minors I never thought I would have until a spur of the moment decision. Theatre had been a life passion of mine. But I had not learned anything about sociology until my Intro to Sociology class my first semester, but that is when I fell in love with the subject. It was that, or minoring in Marketing or Business. Which I still can see myself going back to school to get a certificate in marketing.

I went through college pretty quiet. I never went out. I didn't have many friends. I didn't leave campus every weekend. I focused on my classes, my other activities, and my jobs. During my second year I considered transferring to University of Wisconsin - River Falls, which was closer to home, near my friends and still had my program. That's how out of place I felt at Winona. To this day, I'm still unsure of what held me there, but I have this gut feeling it was the theatre department, mainly the professors and students, who kept me going in the long run.

It was not until my final semester that I broke out of my shell a bit more and experienced college. I went to more parties, I hung with friends more, I even went out to the bars for the first time. These may not seem like huge things, but they were major steps for me. I never skipped class for my final three years of college and I wanted to always get those 100%'s. The stress of making sure that I would get straight A's held me back to true experiences and memories that would last longer than a digital screen telling me I had gotten another A. Perhaps that was my biggest and maybe even only regret. Not getting out enough and living in the moment. I was always told C's get degrees, but I always wanted and strived for better.

Even with changing majors, considerations on transferring, a lack of a social life and feeling like I didn't belong in college... I still don't regret a single thing. They say college isn't for everyone, I always thought it was for me and still do. If it was not for me breaking out of my shell thanks to some amazing people in the theatre department and my senior capstone group, then perhaps I would have a different outlook on how my past four years went. Above is a photo that was taken on one of my last ever days at Winona State. I like to look at this one and the one above it seeing the difference in my overall look. I went from being scared, unsure, and nervous to physically beaming with happiness, joy, and positivity. I didn't think I would change after four years of college, but I for sure have. And there are so many wonderful people that I have to thank for that. But for now, I'll leave you with one thing. Life is too short to have regrets. Live in the moment and don't fret over so much about the future... life has a way of working things out for the better.

#WinonaState #WarriorsForever #College #University #Experience #Advice #Graduate