Since November has passed in a flash, I find myself looking back at what I was grateful for during that time of thankfulness and community. I definitely had a rough start to college last year. I had no clue what to expect, both from my professors and the workload to come. This meant I was completely blindsided by the sheer amount of work and effort I was suddenly faced with. This was extremely overwhelming for me, and it put me in a really bad spot as the first semester wrapped up. I knew then that I couldn’t keep on going as I’d been: I needed help.
The first thing I did was reach out to my professors, who were more than happy to lend a helping hand. It’s never shameful to ask for help, and it actually shows a lot of positives about a person when they can recognize when they’re lacking and then take actions to fix them. I next went to my navigator, which is essentially like our counselor at Alvernia. Since she knew so much more than I did about college and how to succeed, I knew that if I came to her with my problems and asked for her advice she’d definitely steer me in the right direction. I am extremely grateful to her because her advice has made me into the student I am today.
College is such a new and exciting experience, but you can easily lose yourself in the vastness of freedom that you are now suddenly in. There’s nobody down your back reminding you to get things done, nobody to keep you on track with what you’re supposed to be doing, and nobody to tell you if what you’re doing is right or wrong. This is why a support system is so crucial, because not having someone to point you in the wrong direction or to share your burdens with when they’re just too heavy to carry on your own, makes staying afloat while struggling impossible.