Community College: The eighth wonder of the world

On June 9th, 2017, I left a University that had taught me many things, but didn't have enough to offer for my specific Journalism route.

In the months preceding my departure, I learned a lot about responsibility, arguing, anger, frustration, and fear. I was scared.

I will leave out the complaints and will say this:

The days I spent at that specific private university were not wasted. Although, at the time it seemed so. The good prevailed amongst it all. I made BRILLIANT AND BEAUTIFUL friendships with people, I had a community of people to rely on, I grew in my faith, and I learned loads.

Despite the struggle through philosophy, art, and film classes, I do have to admit they all taught me something different. I learned to appreciate the amount of effort that goes into making films. I learned how to stand up for what I believe in (sorry to the people I angrily cut off in classes. I'm passionate).

I also discovered that it is possible to cry over Vincent van Gogh at 3 a.m., and I came to understand what I wanted in my future higher-education.

Unfortunately, I was not there to learn about film... I was there to learn about Journalism (the writing kind).

It's like when you're on a roller coaster, preparing for the large drop, and you're nearly there, but all of a sudden the coaster breaks down and stops. The safety bar weighs down on your chest, and you're panicking because you aren't certain if you’re about to fall backwards or continue the ride forward. (Based off a very true story).

In my case, I got a little action on both parallels. Part of the situation threw me backwards, (especially the part where a year’s worth of classes didn't transfer to my new college for credit) and part of the situation pushed me forward.

Applying to community college was a breeze. Deciding which classes to take was hard. Thankfully, one of my close friends knew the public college system and helped me out. I attended an orientation, enrolled in classes, and I was well on my way to becoming America’s Next Top Transfer Student.

Now… Here’s the part where I become the new kid.

Unlike high school, college is a place where new faces turn up all the time, so thankfully I was arriving to the school the same time a load of freshmen were as well. I went from going to a school that literally had a little over 300 students to a school that had 30,000+ (scary in itself).

I hadn't been to public school since 6th grade.

Anyways, to say the first day was intimidating was the understatement of my year.

It would mark one of the first days I drove alone to my new school (nerve-wrecking on its own), and one of the first days I’d have to deal with literally zero parking spaces available.

Driving was never my ideal form of transportation (I'd honestly prefer to ride a horse to school), but the commute got easier as my surroundings became familiar.

The drive was pretty crazy at first, and getting into a minor accident on the way back from the first day seemed like a bad omen, but nevertheless, I prevailed.

So, community college… what’s it like?

To be honest, community college is pretty amazing. I get to pick the classes I want to take at a less expensive rate. Despite some classes being pretty basic, General Ed classes can be a hit or miss.

Some professors can be tough to understand, but others are great and make the content fun and easy to understand. Community College has had nothing but a positive impact in my life.

My counselor helped me to understand what classes I’d need in order to transfer into a future school, and she also helped me understand why some of my goals were unrealistic (they were) and what alternatives were available for me.

I was able to take classes I really adored, including Botany (the biological study of plants). Although some think I’m majoring in this, I am not and unfortunately it’s not a minor.

I took a Communications class with one of the raddest professors ever. Although the information I learned was similar to a class I took while at the previous university, it came from a new mindset, making the info fresh and interesting.

I also took a speech class, which was another whirlwind, but it all worked out in the end and helped boost my speaking confidence. My other class was a Sociology class, which was pretty basic.

The only thing I truly struggled with this first semester was finding a niche at a commuter school. It’s really hard to make friends if you don’t live anywhere near the hub. It’s also hard because everyone shows up to school, finishes their classes, and leaves to head home.

It’s a pretty rough schedule, especially when you have to keep traffic times in mind. I would chat with classmates, joke around, etc… but it never went further. I was glad that the school I previously attended was a short drive away. This allowed me to maintain some of the relationships I made there while also attending a different school.

I wanted to write this because I feel as if the Community College path is so often overlooked, looked down upon, and sometimes not even mentioned as a pathway one should take to achieving their goals.

Instead of these things, community college has been nothing but a great opportunity for people. It’s not just for those who have undecided paths, it’s also for those who want to reach their goals at a reasonable pathway.

You take the time you need in finishing lower division coursework while also being able to balancing work and other things life throws at you. The professors are awesome and everyone genuinely cares for your future, as long as you do too. It’s a way to build on old skills, find new interests and meet new people.

Community colleges also have helpful tutoring centers for writing, reading, math, etc. You might even get lucky and find that they only hang up Vincent van Gogh paintings in the writing center.

All in all, my transfer was a messy time, but only good has come out of the situation. Thanks, public school.

xoxo,

Ana

#CHAT #LIFE #COLLEGE