Being a student at NOVA community college truly taught me to push myself in many different ways I never was possible. College life helped me to overcome some of my biggest fears and helped to teach me some of the most important lessons. It helped me to learn more about myself and grow as a person along the way. As stressful as it may seem at times, I know that it is important towards accomplishing my goals and dreams.
Growing up in a dysfunctional household, there was little support for me to do well. My father was an alcoholic and abusive towards my mother. Being around an unhealthy and disruptive environment, it affected my ability to handle situations properly. Instead of taking charge of my life, I learn to use avoidance as a coping mechanism early on.
I went through high school failing almost all of my classes and barely getting by. Day after day, I sat in classes not caring about a single thing. Perhaps my inability to focus was due to relationship problems going on in my life. There was no getting through to me. As detrimental as it was, I refused to think about the future. I felt that I could barely get by the present day. The idea of making the decision about what I wanted to do for the rest of my life was so overwhelming it paralyzed me.
As the years passed by, life felt empty and meaningless without any real goals or plans for the future. It didn’t feel good to not have anything to show for myself. Maybe I was going through a quarter life crisis, but I felt that I was simply existing and not truly living my life. The key to living a fuller life would lie in facing my problems. I could not run from them any longer. It was causing a huge roadblock for me to be able to truly take care of myself and function as an individual. Change was hard but I knew it had to be done because the idea of staying the same felt even more painful.
I began the process of signing up and registering for school. There were so many different obstacles to navigate through on my own. It felt especially difficult for someone who was accustomed to taking the “safe” route in life and never actually trying hard for anything. This was definitely going to put me to the test. I had to step outside my comfort zone and try new things. Letting go of my fear and insecurities was one of the best things I could have done for myself.
It took practice but I began to figure out how to balance my schedule. It was important to be persistent, never give up, and stay on top of everything. I wouldn’t let anything stop me from getting what I wanted. An important lesson I learned was how procrastinating would catch up with me. Not taking things seriously enough was the root of the problem. I would under estimate the amount of time I had to