Finding Your Purpose In College
When you first enter college you might feel like a small fish in a large tank of talented and ambitious fish. It's okay to feel like you're not sure what you want to get out of your college experience or where you should start searching for that answer. To me, college has been a journey and it's definitely been meant more than just getting a degree.
In the Fall of 2016 I transferred to the University of Florida from Miami Dade Community College. Looking back, those first two years before I got into UF were pivotal in helping me refine my college purpose. During that time I challenged myself to go out of my comfort zone and apply for internships and get involved in anything that caught my attention.
In between my classes, my internships and my extracurricular activities, I started to realize what I liked. One semester I took on two internships in different fields and I still consider it my most defining semester of college. I would work half the week as a sports production intern and the other half at a travel PR agency. Although it was difficult to juggle two internships and full time classes, it helped me grow my work ethic and I always came home feeling like I had created something I was proud of it. These are the moments I started to crave once that semester was over and that's when I started to notice having a purpose meant everything in college.
When I got to UF, I got involved in organizations that fulfilled my purpose of creativity and advocacy. I joined the newsroom to hone into my storytelling, I enrolled in classes that grew my creativity and I took on a job with the wellness center on campus to help my advocate for healthy lifestyle in college. All of these didn't happen in one semester, it takes time to network and find the path that works for you.
But, one think I like to keep in mind is "you'll always be a student first". Whether you're at the best internship in the state or the president of your student-led organization, you'll always be learning as long as you're curious and that's the key to finding purpose. Eventually you'll notice there are things you want to learn more about, not because you have to but because you want to - and that's how you find your purpose.
In the Fall of 2016 I transferred to the University of Florida from Miami Dade Community College. Looking back, those first two years before I got into UF were pivotal in helping me refine my college purpose. During that time I challenged myself to go out of my comfort zone and apply for internships and get involved in anything that caught my attention.
In between my classes, my internships and my extracurricular activities, I started to realize what I liked. One semester I took on two internships in different fields and I still consider it my most defining semester of college. I would work half the week as a sports production intern and the other half at a travel PR agency. Although it was difficult to juggle two internships and full time classes, it helped me grow my work ethic and I always came home feeling like I had created something I was proud of it. These are the moments I started to crave once that semester was over and that's when I started to notice having a purpose meant everything in college.
When I got to UF, I got involved in organizations that fulfilled my purpose of creativity and advocacy. I joined the newsroom to hone into my storytelling, I enrolled in classes that grew my creativity and I took on a job with the wellness center on campus to help my advocate for healthy lifestyle in college. All of these didn't happen in one semester, it takes time to network and find the path that works for you.
But, one think I like to keep in mind is "you'll always be a student first". Whether you're at the best internship in the state or the president of your student-led organization, you'll always be learning as long as you're curious and that's the key to finding purpose. Eventually you'll notice there are things you want to learn more about, not because you have to but because you want to - and that's how you find your purpose.
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