Stressing Over Your Goals And Aspirations
By Michelle Bonarrigo

No doubt college life is bound to be stressful at some point. Papers and other homework will seem very tedious at times. College is not only a time of learning factual material and becoming booksmart, but a time to figure out who you are, what you want to become, what you value and who you should surround yourself with. Perhaps you dream of attaching the title doctor, officer or CEO to your name. With these aspirations comes a series of deadlines and classes that may have nothing to do with your goal. A student may wonder why they have to write a 12-page paper on marine life when their college major is criminal justice.

College is also expensive and requires students to work throughout their semester in order to pay off loans. In this situation, a student must balance their school life, homework life, work life and social life. As I pondered over what college has brought to my own life, I remembered a very humorous and pessimistic saying that a good friend of mine, a college graduate , quotes to me when I stress out over school, “C’s get degrees”.

As I laughed over this I realized that it is very true but also sad because when I graduate from college and attempt to find a job, I highly doubt an employer will hire a person they feel is just simply average. So much of getting a job these days is because of personality, past experience with certain jobs and special skills. You do not have to put on a job application that you failed a midterm in college.

The feeling of stress comes from feeling overwhelmed with pleasing others. When a student finds his or her drive in life, the reason this person feels they exist, life for them is set. Life without purpose causes stress and feelings of recklessness. Some find their purpose sooner than others, while some don’t have time to do such soul searching and end up in a career they only got into because they feel that the career path is practical rather than meaningful to them. Students must take classes that will broaden their horizons and expand their thoughts on life and what their life means to them. College is the opportunity to learn and grow and mold yourself into something beautiful and meaningful.