This past year was actually an emotional rollercoaster for me. This was the year I began to question everything; I began to question my friendships, my choices, and even my purpose in the world as well as what I want to do with the rest of my life. I thought I had everything figured out, but it turns out I didn’t and this year my world came crashing down. In the rubble I found myself and figured out what makes me happy and did what I believe to be what’s best for me.

 

Coming into college I believed that I was lucky because I had everything all figured out and I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I was an athletic training major with a minor in sport administration. I had the best of both worlds; I was learning about the medical and business sides of the sports world. This year was the beginning of all my doubts. I was beginning to feel that athletic training just wasn’t for me anymore. I hated going to my clinical rotation and I was having mini breakdowns often. I also was beginning to feel trapped and saw no escape. I began weighing my options and decided to change my major to Sport Administration with a minor in Marketing. Although I haven’t officially begun my new major and minor I am happy with my decision and do think that I will have a more pleasurable experience this upcoming year because of it. I finally feel like I have control of my life and I will never let the feeling go; it is empowering.

 

This past year I started to feel empowered, but I was also disappointed in myself. I was not as involved on campus as I wanted to be. Which is also something I hope to achieve next year. I became involved with Bearcat Buddies which is an organization that tutors Cincinnati inner city youth in math and/or reading and I loved it. I was not able to do too much else; I want to be able to make an impact on campus and in the community and I hope that next year I can  be more involved in activities not only on campus, but also in the community.

 

Next school year I want to learn to take on more responsibility as I become more and more independent. My goal for next school year is to take on a leadership role in campus. This year I was a general body member of a few organizations, but I didn’t really have time to attend the meetings, so next year I want to make time for what is important to me and that is being more involved and taking on more challenging roles within an organization. Eventually I want to have a leadership role within a company. Being a leader in an organization is the baby steps necessary for me to begin preparing for my future. After all I am three years away from graduation and entering the real world.

     

Some advice I would like to give myself in preparation for next year is to step out of my comfort zone and try something new. I am going to let this advice lead me through not only next year, but the rest of my college career. I’ve stayed in my comfort zone my whole life and I am in search of something new and exciting. I want to figure out what my passions are and I am hoping if I leave my comfort zone I will learn new things about myself.  Different can be a little scary, but it can also lead to greatness and that is what I want to be, exceptional!