Life Reset: Starting Over After College

On May 16, 2012, I achieved something no one else in my family had. I graduated from college with a Bachelors degree in Journalism & Media Studies. After all the excitement and “congratulations” had died down, the next question was “so now what?” And sadly I didn’t have an answer.

Maybe I’ll get a job at a magazine or maybe I’ll start my own media company. Everything was maybe and nothing definite until I realized how hard is was to find a job as a writer or reporter. I found myself asking is journalism really necessary? Is it even relevant anymore? Five years of studying, exams, and papers and all I could come up with were maybes. To be honest, I no longer felt fulfilled by journalism. I wanted something more out of life. Something that allowed me to impact in my community, the world, the youth. Journalism just wasn’t it for me anymore.

I had gotten a summer job working for Upward Bound Summer Academy mentoring high school students and serving as a Teacher Assistant. Through my interactions with the students, I realized that I have a gift of relating to others and that’s what draws people to me. I also saw where the education system failed and where it could be improved. I realized that I wanted to work in the education field, but I hadn’t decided on whether it was teaching or working behind the scenes in policy. On a whim, I started putting in last minute applications for graduate school in July for admission for September and by August I was accepted into a Masters of Education program. I am currently completing my first semester of graduate school averaging a 3.8 GPA. I’m working towards a degree in Education Policy, which will allow me to evaluate programs that are effective and ineffective to improve them to ensure that students in public education are getting the best education possible.

The moral of my story is that no matter the circumstances, it’s never too late to work for what you want even if you have to hit the reset button a few times to get there. Life is about self-discovery and finding your place in the world and we spend our entire lifetimes searching.

Is there something you wish to achieve, but feel it’s too late to get there? Don’t be afraid if you need to take several detours. Just keep chasing that feeling that makes you live.