Shifting Graduation Date & Changing Classes...Along with Some Advice

Happy Monday Everyone!

I've been thinking about this long and hard, and I've finally made the decision to go for it. I figured I'm only a senior once in college, I still have my whole life ahead of me...and I'm deciding to change my major...

The accounting internship was just too much, too stressful and gave me too much anxiety...


JUST KIDDING!

I hope there was no way you would believe that "I'm just a senior once in my life", what the heck? "Change my major"? After EVERYTHING I've gone through and accomplished so far, HELL NO!

But plans have changed a bit, nothing as drastic as changing my major though.

After taking my GMAT exam, I was recommended to retake it. Not necessarily because I failed the score, but just because my score was close to the cut off line, I didn't want my GMAT to risk me getting into the Masters Program.

The new plan for that is to retake it sometime during my winter break, preferably before Christmas. So I can spend Christmas enjoying the holiday with friends and family.

The next change comes along with a stupid mistake I made in my scheduling for these "last two quarters". For some reason I didn't make the connection that one of my classes is a prerequisite for another class, and that "NO Lisa, you cannot take them in the same quarter."

Sadly there was only one class time left, which didn't fit into my current schedule, due to other required classes that aren't available other times of the year.

The new plan for that is to graduate with the rest of my class in June, instead of early in March. Which also means I won't be able to start the Masters Program at the end of March, but instead at the beginning of the new school year in September.

It's crazy to think about how this one dumb little mistake, where I thought I was being smart about class scheduling, changes and shifts your plans six months down the road...trust me I've beat myself up about this...

There are a lot of positives that do come with this though, which I'm very excited for.

• The first one being that I was able to drop one of the four classes I was taking this quarter, to lighten my load. (You have to take a certain number of credits for financial aid to go through, and to not over pay for classes.) I will be taking this class in the Spring quarter instead. 
• I will also be able to take part in an accounting internship class, where I will be lined up to help report and file peoples taxes. (I'm trying to get into the tax field, so this will be my first real life taste of that.) I wouldn't have been able to take part in this if I was planning to graduate in March due to credits and scheduling.
• I have also be offered a job opportunity with a small business where I would be doing some of their bookkeeping and accounting from home. I don't know too much about this, and nothing is final yet, but be able to do something in the accounting field, being able to do it while I'm attending school, and being able to work from home whenever I'm available is AMAZING!
• And finally, I would have been able to walk across the stage with my friends at graduation anyways, but now one of my friends will be attending the Masters Program at the same time I am! So I won't be completely alone! YAY!

Ultimately I'm writing this post to speak to those of you who are feeling down about college, or classes, or test scores. Time schedules, tests, and classes may not always work out the way you planned to. Not everything aligns perfectly every time, not in school and not in life.

College is difficult. Which is why not everyone attends. And I, of all people, know how easy it is to overlook that fact, when you're sitting in a room full of smart people, in a room full of people who seem to know everything they want in life, and where they want to be. 

...but you're one of those people in that room too. You took the SAT and ACT just like those people did. You applied and were accepted to the same university as those people were. You took the prerequisites to the class you're sitting and passed them, just like those people did. You are one of those people, and while everyone around you seems to know just what they want, they are probably feeling the same stress and anxiety as you. You aren't alone. 

So don't compare yourself to those people in that room. Maybe they are just better at hiding the stress and anxiety. Don't beat yourself up about a little mistake. Remind yourself of who you are, where you come from, and what you've achieved so far in life..and then retake that GMAT, retake that class, extend your schedule, keep chugging along, until you get to where you are going.

I hope this helped some of you out. I've been feeling a bit down with the start of the school, and with all of this news being thrown at me in such a short amount of time. If you've been struggling with the same thing, or have overcome something similar, please feel free to leave a comment down below discussing your situation.

Thank you!