It’s true. I’m a junior. I have entered my third year post high school and, well, not too much has changed. I still feel semi lost on my journey to finding a career fit for me. I still don’t know why people always make the “hate to BU” joke every time I tell them what school I go to. And I still don’t know when to expect the BU shuttle to arrive. Well, I guess, one thing changed. I got contacts and said goodbye to my heavy framed plastic glasses. I’m still lost but at least one thing I don’t have to fear about losing too much anymore are those glasses.
I entered sophomore year with an unintentional fresh new look. I started wearing contacts out of convenience, but the removal of those glasses seemed to really throw people off. Former floormates did double takes not realizing it was me. Some people from my previous classes looked confused when I waved to them passing by on the sidewalk. I felt like Hillary Duff’s character when no one knew it was her behind that white Cinderella mask in A Cinderella Story, or The Joker from The Dark Night when Harvey Dent didn’t recognize The Joker’s heavily made up face behind a thin surgical mask covering only the bottom half of his face. By altering this one part of my identity, I became unrecognizable.
To finalize my transformation, by January of the next semester I removed the glasses on my Bitmoji character, and putting on my contacts was inserted into my morning routine.
Basically, this has been my long winded way of saying that change may throw others off at first, but as long as you feel comfortable with yourself, embrace it. In high school, the phrase “you’ve changed” seemed to always be tainted with negative connotations. But I’ve decided that it is one of the highest compliments to receive.
Now that I have settled into my junior year, I am excited for change. I’m open to new experiences from a change in setting when I potentially study abroad in the spring, to a change in how I approach the summer internship search. Change is not always a bad thing, instead it could stand for improvement. Once junior year hits you become an upperclassmen, and that title comes with a whole new set of responsibilities. You’re expected to be a mentor and a source of knowledge for underclassmen, and I was not ready for it–or so I thought. The COM Ambassador program as well as leadership positions that I’ve taken up in various campus organizations were catalysts for me in positively adjusting my character. I still have my childlike sense of humor and am in constant confusion, but I’ve also learned how to stand up for myself and manage my responsibilities better than before.
Change provided me with the ability to see without needing something atop my nose at all times. But, perhaps more importantly, change allowed me to see that I personally was capable of doing more than I thought possible. Don’t stay stagnant because you feel that it may inconvenience or distract those around you. College pushed me to practice independence and self care, and naturally with that came personal development. College is a time to discover where your true limits lay and you can’t reach higher until moving outside of your comfort zone.