Greetings! My name is Natasha and I’m currently a senior at Pepperdine University majoring in business. I began my college excursion at Moorpark Community College subsequently from graduating high school. I was unsure about my future plans so I decided community college would be the best route for me. During my enrollment at the community college, I began to explore my different interests. My first semester I took a cultural anthropology class and strongly considered pursuing that career, but then realized that was not for me. I would constantly stress over not knowing what I wanted to do, which resulted in changing my major five times over a period of 3 years. Throughout those three years at Moorpark, I learned a lot about myself, and my work ethic that I would never have learned if I had attended a university.. When most people think of the typical “college experience” they envision big campuses, packed lecture halls, Greek life, football games, and nonstop partying. While these things are reality for a lot of college students, they could not have been farther from my own experience. Admittedly, when I began my years of community college I felt as though I was going to miss out on a certain right of passage into adulthood because I wouldn’t have any of the normal college experiences. However, as the months began to pass I came to see that although I wasn’t living the stereotypical college life, I had chosen the right path for myself. I didn’t have the freedom of living my own in a dorm, but I also didn’t have a horrible roommate to deal with. I didn’t get to go to my own schools football games, but I got to attend games with friends who went to big schools. I didn’t get to go to crazy parties every night, but I didn’t have to skip class because I was too tired to go the next day. In the end, I got to travel, visiting friends and experiencing the best things various schools had to offer. During the school year, I got to focus on myself, my studies, and was motivated to get the best possible grades so I could transfer. I learned that the schools I thought I wanted to attend straight out of high school would have been the wrong choices for me in the long run and transferring allowed me a chance to attend schools that wouldn’t have accepted me otherwise. I started to focus on bettering myself, and working towards the future I wanted instead of indulging in the present. I explored jobs ranging from a department store, coffee shop, theme park, and even a law firm. I built my resume and worked extremely hard. When others looked forward to summer ending and going back to their lives at school, I would look forward to my personal time. I learned to accept taking my own path instead of conforming to what I thought was expected of me. I learned about myself, my needs, my desires, and how to work hard for what I want out of life. I ended up in a program where I can keep the job that I love, and still get my degree, and saved a huge amount of money in the process. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing about my college experience, and whenever I find myself in a position that seems to deviate from the norm I have no problem with it. Everyone has his or her own path. Sometimes you just have to be brave enough to take the one for you.
