Happy happy Friday everyone! You made it to the weekend! Give yourself a break, go get yourself a coffee, sit back and watch an episode of your favorite show, you deserve it. Anyways, we are trying something new today for the blog that I am honestly really excited about. Guest writers!!
What?
Signedashlyn has guest writers now?
You heard it right, it sure does. Why you may ask? Because, I am 21 years old, and I like to think I’ve learned a lot over the years, but I absolutely, DO NOT know everything. There are so many things that I don’t know about and would love to learn about, so that is what guest writers are for. Is this going to stick? I don’t know! But, I want to give it a shot because I think it is such a cool idea and I want to give people who maybe don’t want to start a whole blog on their own, but have something to share a place to share it. We all have stories, and sometimes we just need a place to tell them. So signedashlyn is the place to tell them.
I am so very excited to introduce our very first guest writer to you. If you are in college, this one is for you! Today, our guest writer is telling you all about the college advice she wish she got in college. And we get to hear it from someone who’s been there. There is some awesome advice in this piece and this writer did an amazing job with it. So I am going to stop writing now and pass it off to our guest writer this week.
The very first signedashlyn.com guest blogger is…
MY MOM!!!
Thank you Mom for creating this beautiful piece, that I now get to share with you all. Enjoy!
Lessons I Wish Someone Told Me in College
Advice from Someone Who Has Been There
By: Stacey Messier
This piece is not to tell you what to do. It’s a couple of thoughts and ideas that I wish someone had told me when I was in college 20 years ago. Three children later (2 of which are currently in college), a full-time career and a life full of experiences, I have learned a few things (in no particular order) along the way that I thought others may benefit from.
Find out what YOU like, what YOU enjoy, what makes YOU happy
I wish someone told me that there is no better time than during your college years to truly find out about you. This is when you find out what makes you happy, what do you enjoy doing in your free time, what are your favorite things to do, what do you not like. Colleges and universities are filled with clubs, activities, groups, and opportunities to meet new people and try new things. It is a great time to meet people that have similar interests as you that could become your friends for life. It’s your time to discover a new hobby or interest that you could participate in long after the college years are over. Don’t get me wrong, 20 years post college, I have some very close friends that are like family that I have made from my girls years of playing softball. But, the opportunities to try new things becomes slightly more difficult when you are busy with family obligations. So, do it now, join the entertainment committee, play an intramural sport or join a group that inspires you or something you are passionate about. You never know…an added bonus is that it could lead to an internship or future career opportunity.
Take every opportunity, network and don’t be afraid to speak up
I am sure you have heard it over and over, “don’t let opportunities pass you by.” The truth is you never know what may come of an experience or opportunity that you didn’t think was that big of a deal. I wish someone had told me that during those college years, to take every opportunity, big or small, that may come your way. It could lead to an internship, or a job opportunity. Make sure you don’t let a day pass and not take advantage of every day.
Don’t be afraid to speak up. Remember the worst case scenario is someone says no. College students may not ask because they are shy or don’t want to hear no. So what, they said no. I wish someone had told me to keep asking, ask someone else, keep speaking up, at some point someone may say yes, and just imagine what could be if you build and make all these connections in your future. The truth is, you may have your degree in your desired profession, but that doesn’t mean life will take you in a different direction. It doesn’t hurt to know a lot of people.
This goes for school related and personal decisions, Don’t wait to do things or take advantage of an adventure or journey because the time may never present itself again.
Try and succeed or try and fail…there is no hurt in either
You try something new, it succeeds…AWESOME! On the other hand, you try something new, it is a disaster and you think you are finished…WRONG! I wish someone had told me that there is a lot of growth and learning in trying something and failing. You learn how to adapt, how to change to make something work. You learn a great deal when something fails, and just because something fails, doesn’t mean you failed, it means you created an opportunity to learn something new.
Pay off your loans as fast as you can
Many college students graduate with college loans. You are not alone. However, many college students do not want to think about paying back college loans. Many do not even realize what they owe after four years and say to themselves, “I owe how much???” Yes, different loans sometimes give you 6 months before you have to start paying them and yes, you can defer your loans for a little while, but repayment comes fast, life is going to continue, and monthly payments are not cheap. Looking back, I wish I had worked a little harder to pay my loans off earlier. My husband and I just finished paying off our student loans this past year! It took us 20 years and we were not being careless. The payments were higher than we thought in college and life happens…mortgages, children, vacations, etc. Think about how you may be able to pay your loans off as quickly as possible, maybe move back home for a couple of years and put down more on that principal loan amount, or move in with a couple of roommates to save money on rent so you can make an extra payment or two. Think about ways that you can put more money towards the principal loan amount to get it paid off quickly. You may have to make a sacrifice, but believe me, the sacrifice will be well worth it when those loans are paid off.
Be grateful for the good and bad
You graduate with no loans..be grateful. You graduate with some loans..be grateful. Your internship went fantastic..be grateful. Your experience with your roommates maybe did not pan out the way you expected..be grateful. I wish someone had told me 20 years ago to accept and be grateful for all the experiences, good and bad, that came my way. And believe me there were many good and bad. In those moments of difficulty, I would sometimes think “this is the worst.” “Why do I have to do this but others do not?” For example, I was a first generation college student and put myself through college financially. I used to work on the weekends as a server and then I worked every day at my work study job during the work week while taking 5 classes per semester. It was a challenge! In my 4 years of college, I never stayed at college on a weekend because I had to work. Looking back, those challenging times and what you learn from them are the experiences that are going to mold you into the adult you will become. I wish in those moments, I was grateful for those challenges because they were teaching me lessons that would last the rest of my life. It’s not to say that I was happy I went through it, but you can choose at that moment to say this is an experience you will grow and change you for the better.
Thank you for reading and hopefully you found one idea to be useful or helpful for you:)
This article was so well articlutad and there are so many lessons in here that I am going to start to think about every day. I love giving you all advice on college, but the reality is, I’m going through it just like you are, so my advice can only stretch so far. Getting a different perspective on things is really important and I am so glad my mom sent me this piece to share with all of you.
Thank you mom!
I hope that you all enjoyed today’s guest writer, and I hope that I can create more posts like this in the future. Thank you so so much for reading and your support means the world to me.
Signed,
Ashlyn
Yes, yes, yes. Great post Ashlyn and Stacey. I agree, network and get to know people – close friends, colleagues, professional affiliations will continue to grow as you get older, but you have to make the first move and open those doors – you never know where they may lead and the great friends you will make. True growth comes from hard work and failure – create a history of stepping out of your comfort zone – you quickly will realize how much you are improving because you are experiencing new, challenging, and exciting things. Don’t seek perfection, seek reflection. Once you reach the top of a mountain there will always be another mountain – at first that may seem a bit frustrating, but when you look down from the 3rd or 4th mountain you’ve climbed, you’ll realize how much you’ve grown as a person and you’ll keep climbing. Work hard, be a person of good character, and continue to set the example for your friends and family. Many a young man and young woman are deprived of the hard work that made men of their fathers and women of their mothers. Don’t be deprived – thrive in your work and make the best of your journey!