The Juniors Edition
We are now onto the third installment of our changing perspectives series. And it is time to talk to the juniors.
Answering These Questions
If you have not had a chance to read my previous articles, I really encourage you to check them out. I have been curious to see how perspectives on school and life change throughout your college experience. Does your idea of what or who you want to be change as you progress throughout college?
Who Am I?
I am graduating a year early (May 2021) and wondered if my outlook on life is shortchanged because I will have been attending college for only three years instead of four. I was curious to see if my outlook aligns more closely with the juniors or seniors, but I was also curious to see how our freshmen and sophomores are doing as well. Hence this series.
I explain more fully in part one the reason behind my shorter college experience, but basically, I took enough dual enrollment in high school to transfer into college as a sophomore. For a variety of reasons I did not, so now I am graduating as a junior.
Now Let’s See What Other Juniors Had To Say!
Keaghan Gray is a junior Political Science major with a National Security minor. Her original job goal was to be an Intelligence Analyst for an agency like the CIA or FBI. Now, three years in, she told me her ideas have shifted slightly and she would rather work in a thinktank under a foreign policy or national security field, and she is debating about graduate school. She has also been pleasantly surprised by the college experience. Education has taught her many lessons and forced her to grow in many ways. And finally she says that she, “would take more chances and push myself further out of my comfort zone.”
Next I talked to Junior English major with Communications and Writing minors, Lydia Barth. She feels like she has grown and changed so much since she entered college and that it has helped her to hone her skills and learn more about herself as a person. Her goal is to live on her own, publish a book, and have a job that she loves and she would like to remind you to not take your years at college for granted because they fly by. “Remember the time here, because you only have four years, and they go by so fast!”
I talked to Ashley Ostrowski next. She is also an English major and has said that she feels much more focused now than when she entered college but still is not tied to a particular job or title. College has helped her “become so much more self-sufficient, and I’ve matured quite a bit.” Ashley was actually an undeclared freshman her first year and did not declare English until her sophomore year. College is an excellent opportunity to explore subjects that interest you and it can help you figure out what you are passionate about and want to dedicate your time to studying. Ashley took some English classes and was hooked.
Lastly, I talked to Scott Amon who is also a junior English major. (I guess English majors like answering surveys😊) However, Scott didn’t start out as an English major. For a while he was dead set on joining the CIA, but that changed after his first year. He is more interested in technical writing or becoming a paralegal now. When I asked him about growth from high school to college he said, “I look back on some of the papers I wrote and realize that I have grown a lot since my senior literature classes!” I hope you find that encouraging!
And finally, here is some advice from Scott, “I would say the two things I would tell my high school senior self is to worry less and expect my plans to change. Planning and being proactive is beneficial, but plans can change in a few short months let alone four years. As for worrying, I have found that it is pretty useless and often slows you down.”
To Sum Up
I have now talked to people who have gone through the same years that I have (freshman through junior). I am finding that I resonated deeply with the responses from the freshmen and sophomores. I was in their shoes last year or the year before. I can remember that I felt the same way they did. When you are not sure what you want to do but you are focused on enjoying my time at school, it is hard to think about your future. But, I also resonate with the juniors. I look back on my time here at school and realize it is almost over. I also can see how much I have grown. However, I do not have the luxury of one more year of college. This is it. My final countdown. Maybe my perspective lines up more with the seniors? Let us see what they have to say.
