Daniel A.
Photography by Peyton Mears
If you’re reading this, change is scary, but it can lead to profound growth in unexpected ways.
The college experience is unique in that, for most people, it brings in at least two significant periods of change. The first being the process of getting into and adjusting to a university, and the second being the departure into the next stage of life. Most students also experience significant change in between. I want to acknowledge how challenging these transitions can be. Then I want to encourage you to value the growth that can result from change.
I struggled a lot in that first transition to college — even before the application process. It was difficult to decide on a university and a major. I utilized FSU’s exploratory program while starting on the engineering route. Quickly, my main priority during my first fall semester felt like survival; my classwork was overwhelming and I was struggling with other life stressors. My mental health suffered. I thought that college may not work out for me, but I utilized resources like going to therapy and working with the dean’s office to late-drop a class. Importantly, I returned for the spring semester.
In that spring semester, something finally clicked. I decided on a major and career path that gave me a sense of purpose. This decision coincided with an array of lifestyle and personal changes, and I was on the path to a much better version of myself. I experimented with intentional changes like joining organizations on campus, making new friends, and signing up for commitments that took me out of my comfort zone. These resulted in some of my favorite and most valuable experiences from my time at Florida State. All the lasting growth that I have found has been rooted in a change, sometimes painful change.
The time between the two transitions I mentioned goes quickly, but we carry the lessons we learn beyond these few years. That feeling of simply trying to survive has and will re-occur, but I can approach it with confidence that it will not last forever and that it does not define who I am or where I’m headed. I am writing this in the spring of my senior year, approaching an inevitable next step with lots of uncertainties. Change is still scary, but it’s also where I’ve found the most growth, and I hope you can also approach it with a sense of hope for what it might bring.
Daniel A., Florida State University
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