Reminiscing On The Last Two Years Of College
- Hailey Boyd
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
The Beginning of The Beginning
In September of 2022, I graduated from high school. I was homeschooled and a terrible procrastinator, so I waited until nearly the last moment to finally finish high school. Once I graduated, though, I had no idea what I wanted to do next in life. I took a two-year break and worked a little, but as I was working, I realized I wasn’t happy with where I was heading. I wanted to do something more, and finally, I decided to go on to get a degree in March of 2024.
The Beginning
I began college in August of 2024, and to say I was a nervous wreck would be an understatement. I’m not a very social person, which played a big part in why I was homeschooled the last three years of high school. Luckily, my classes were small, but being around even those few new people felt overwhelming for quite some time. Also, at that same time, I was going through some severe health anxiety that lasted my entire first semester.
I was told by a friend that his first impression of me was how exhausted I looked every day. This was very true, as my anxiety would keep me up at night and cause serious insomnia. For quite some time, it felt like this anxiety would never end. Having schoolwork to focus on helped distract me for some time, which was very helpful, but it only stunned my brain for so long.
Finally, in December of 2024, I felt my brain begin to calm down from my health anxiety, and eventually, I completely overcame it. While this is not directly tied to college, it affected my initial college experience. It was significantly helpful that my first semester classes were laidback and not stressful. It felt therapeutic at times to read through notes and do my work, as it took my mind off whatever it may have been worrying about at the time. During this time, I also discovered a love for classical music. I would listen to it while reading notes or studying, and it helped me with recalling information later on.
My favorite classical song
Socializing
During my first semester, I didn’t speak all that much to anyone, but I was still introduced to my current friends. It wasn’t until the second semester that I started socializing more and making connections. I made most of my friends in the second semester, and all of them remain friends to this day. I’m not normally one to willingly put myself out there and try to befriend people, but I feel so happy that I did because each of them is greatly important to me.
Grateful For My Experiences
In the same semester, I also worked at quite a few sports games, which forced me even more into the public. I am grateful for the opportunities I had to get out into the real world and do work with livestreaming games and videoing them. These experiences deepened my interest in videography and media, and all the things I learned are greatly valuable for a few careers I am interested in.
Being present in public more also helped me to get out of my comfort zone, and while I won’t lie and say I like big crowds or being around a ton of people, it did help relieve a good amount of my anxiety and helped me to adjust to larger groups of people.
Finding My Friends
By the third semester of college, I had found a group of friends. I grew quite close to them during this time, and having them around helped me immensely with my mental health. The time I spent with them was comforting, and being able to rant or hear them rant was a fun part of some of my days. To have people to rely on and be able to turn and talk to on hard days is invaluable, and I find it hard to express just how much I appreciate each and every one of my friends.
Interpersonal Communications
In my third semester, I took a class called “Interpersonal Communications.” This class taught me so much about myself and how to manage my relationships with others, and I use a large amount of the information I learned in that class to this day. My teacher in that class, Jill Winter, was hugely supportive and helpful during my time in that class. She helped me to feel seen, heard, and understood, unlike before, and this helped me to grow in self-confidence, determination to overcome my struggles, and empathy for others. I feel that I now have a much bigger and clearer picture of who I am as a person, and I remain inspired by the material I learned in that class.
I genuinely feel as though I cannot express enough how much that class meant to me. I opened up about topics in there that I never thought would see the day of light, yet Ms. Winter made me feel comfortable enough to be able to finally overcome the fear of what others may perceive of me and open up about some things I’m facing. There was life and relationship advice offered in there that I will carry and use for life, as it has and continues to help me with my current relationships.
Speeding Up
Finally, in my fourth semester, things started to speed up. These final weeks have flown by as if they were mere minutes, and I still feel at times that we should all still be in the first semester. College flew by so fast, but I am grateful for every moment and memory I got from it. I have made some big strides in this final semester. I met my boyfriend, decided upon a career I’m interested in, and have begun to make future life plans that I wasn’t sure I’d be planning anytime soon before this semester.
Can't Choose A Favorite
If you were to ask me what my favorite semester was, I wouldn’t be able to provide you with an answer since each one of them taught me different lessons, introduced me to new people, and helped me to discover interests I wouldn’t have known about without taking the class I did. (For anyone planning on attending WVC, take Astronomy and Interpersonal Communications if you can. They’re great, and the teachers are even more so!)
Final Words
I am grateful for my entire college experience, the lifelong memories made, and the lessons learnt that I can cherish and use for the rest of my days. Thank you to my friends for having my back and listening to my never-ending rants, and thank you to all of my teachers who each helped me to be intrigued and in tune with all of their lessons.