I know it sounds hard, and it is hard indeed. But it is possible. People said that I was an introvert before coming to college. Looking back on my college experience so far, I truly changed. I gradually started to realize that one of the biggest advantages of being in such a big school is that you meet tons of people every single day. I always felt embarrassed back in high school since there were only 30 people in the entire grade, and if I made some mistakes, everyone would remember it for a really long time.
College is unlike that. If you are not making mistakes, that means you are not growing. I still remember the first time I awkwardly raised my hands in a hundred-people lecture and gave a wrong answer; the first time requesting for an office hour with a professor (it still feels surreal thinking about that now); the first attempt to talk to a random person in a social event, etc. Looking back, I feel like everything happened for a reason. Knowing that making “mistakes” or having seemingly awkward moments in college is inevitable – is a sign that you are growing. It was because of that random talk to professors that I got my first on-campus internship; it was because of that random ‘hello’ to a random girl on my floor that I knew my best friend.
Knowing that no one really remembers your mistakes, sometimes those are things that people do every day. Do what makes you happy and feel right; if it doesn’t seem like the right path, change to another one; if not, keep changing. College is about learning about yourself, if you never do something new, that’s not learning.
If you are shy in high school, don’t worry! Sometimes, it’s always the quiet person who brings the room a lot of fun. Don’t force yourself to change, but challenge yourself to be a bit “different” every day! You will thank yourself when you graduate college!
