I have been wanting to write this blog literally for so long, but I never knew how to start or even how to write it. If you know me personally, then you know that college has literally been a struggle for me since I started. When I started college I didn’t get to go off and enjoy the dorm life, I didn’t get to live anywhere near campus, I didn’t go off to a big university like my friends and lets be real..that was a huge bummer. Instead, I ended up at a community college enrolled in nine regular hours and a three hour remedial class, I started working in corporate America, and literally did not have that enjoyable freshmen year everyone always talks about.
Although my start in college was not ideal, it was what was best for me and that is exactly why God made it happen the way it did. The first year after I was enrolled into community college, I got accepted into the University I wanted to attend for the degree I wanted to pursue. I was so excited and literally worked so hard to ensure that I was enrolled as a Sophomore by Fall 2015. I went ham after that first semester and crammed 27 hours into my spring and summer semesters. I was seriously beyond excited and could not wait to take on whatever the university had headed my way.
Sophomore year starts and not only did I fall in love, I literally was so determined that I had it all planned out to graduate early. I was literally doing everything I could and putting my all into school and by Fall 2016 even with working part-time/full-time I had wrapped up around 67 and was more than halfway to earning my degree. Unfortunately for myself and that plan I had to graduate early was over because I literally stopped showing up to the 12 hours I had enrolled myself in for Spring 2017. Honestly, I don’t know why I stopped other than the fact that I was worn out of school. Going to school since I was in diapers cause of daycare to graduating HS to going straight into college finally caught up with me and hit me hard.
At this point in life I was doing It Works so I was literally just trying to see what life had to offer. With me doing It Works, I literally fell in LOVE with marketing because there is just so much you can do with it. I worked my ass off in It Works and it is what ultimately led me to not only start this blog, but to also start Simply Madisynn Creations and go back to school. To say I am forever grateful for that company would be an understatement because it gave me the confidence I needed to be who I am today. I was going THROUGH IT, but the Lord had a plan for me and everything worked out for the absolute best!
After my little dropout session, my GPA went from around 2.6/2.7 all the way to a 2.1. That was discouraging simply because at one point my GPA was a high 3.2 and it had dropped that low. Going to school, working, being a small business owner was catching up to me, but this is when I realized that this is my future and no one can make it better but myself. So, I enrolled myself as a part time student and attended two night classes just to get me back into the swing of things. I did well in those and went back to a full time student by Spring 2018. Spring 2018 was more than rough for me. I failed statistics, landed with C’s in my other two classes, and dropped another. At this point I am so disappointed in myself because for 1. I’m literally wasting money by not doing my best in school, 2. I realized that had I not been slacking around I could’ve been graduated, & 3. my GPA was dropping again. I was so over school at this point, but I knew something needed to change.
Summer 2018 was about to start and I decided to enroll myself into 12 hours and ended up dropping one class cause of financial reasons. I can honestly say that I have not done my best, but it is a HUGE step from where I have been these last three semesters. I am working hard to make sure everything gets turned in and counting down the days until I am done lol. I am currently enrolled in 15 hours for Fall 2018 and let me tell you that I will complete each course with hopefully either an A or a B+. After Fall 2018, I will be 14 hours away from claiming my degree!! I went through so many trials and tribulations, but they were so worth it because I have learned so much. College is not easy, but it is much easier when you have family, friends, and a whole lot of coffee as your support system! Turn to them and do not give up because it will all be so worth it when you get that degree! I hope y’all enjoy the tips I have to make your college experience a little bit smoother!
Tips to help make your college experience easier!
- NEVER SKIP CLASSES!!!! Doing it once is all it takes to create this terrible habit, so learn from me and stick out the class.
- Textbooks are more than expensive, so before you go and buy a book that you may not even use, look on Amazon or Chegg.com to rent it because it will more than likely be on there for a cheaper price.
- Get on Ratemyprofessor.com and check your professors before you enroll in your class because this will help you determine if the professor is good/okay/or one you really need to avoid.
- If you work, try and take online or night classes depending on your schedule. Keep sticky notes, reminders, and your syllabus with you because you are too busy to try and remember when everything is due. TRUST ME!! I have literally missed critical analysis and tests because I didn’t have the correct date in mind.
- Do not torture yourself with an 8 AM because you will never make it on time.
- Do not stop going to school no matter what you do, if anything you should just lighten your load to become a part time student.
- Write your papers a week or two before it is due that way you don’t stress like I did when I had two 10 page papers due the next day.
- Find people that you can study with if you don’t understand your work because it will make your experience ever.
- Go out to the social events because you will meet some amazing people! BE SOCIAL, don’t just let yourself sit around by yourself because college can get lonely af.
- Don’t stay up all night, it isn’t worth it. If anything, wake up earlier and get everything done sooner so you can just chill.
- Personal development is key to keeping your mind in college, so do about 30 minutes a day with it and you will be a stronger person mentally.
- Have fun and don’t forget to treat yourself with self care days because you will need them.
I hope these tips could help at least one person have a smoother semester. Happy Sunday and enjoy y’all!