Letter to my Undergraduate Self

Preface: I thought I had it tough during application season when I went through it not once or twice, but four times - once during undergrad, again during post-bacc, and twice for grad school. But tough does not even begin to explain the current application and admissions procedure, especially for Speech Language Pathology. Now, just a few weeks shy from finishing my first year of grad school, I am relieved to be on that elusive other side (not quite there - and still have a ton of hurdles left - but almost there!). In hindsight, I feel blessed beyond measure for the mistakes and misdirections that brought me to this point. But hindsight is 20/20, and this letter to my undergraduate self is simply the all-too-ideal and strangely-meta advice to a doe-eyed, eighteen-year-old who viewed the world as her oyster but was too scared to cast out her pearls. 

I would tell my undergraduate freshman self to get out there, branch out, and socialize more. Not necessarily to party more, but simply to build an authentic network in a setting where people are yearning for higher learning and posed to become something great. One of my biggest regrets of my undergraduate education was being at such a large and urban university, but not taking full advantage of the brimming social capital. Looking back, I would take a genuine interest in others' experiences, opinions, and ideas, and a more genuine effort in maintaining those relationships.

To my undergraduate sophomore self, I would challenge her to choose more difficult electives if it sounds interesting and intellectually stimulating. Do not go for the supposed easy-A, because let me tell you, the A is a lot easier to obtain if the content is personally motivating (yes, I am referring to the time I took Air Pollution for a walk in the park, but realized it was much more complicated and difficult than anticipated). But even beyond that, to focus more on learning and obtaining a quality education rather than the letter grade. Ten years down the line, you will not remember what grade you got in your Fiat Lux Seminar, but you will remember what you learned about utopia and dystopia. Imagine that.

I would urge my undergraduate junior self to minor in Gerontology. At the time, I thought my roommates were ridiculous for browsing the university catalog and changing majors and minors every other day. But undergrad is the time to learn for the sake of learning, to minor in something absolutely ridiculous and have the credentials to show for it. In retrospect, it would have been fascinating to take courses on the biology, neuroscience, psychology, health, and behavior of aging. Sure, society is becoming increasingly globalized, but within a population that is inevitably aging. At present, aging provides job security for the individuals who serve that population, but in the future, knowledge and proper protocol about aging healthily and gracefully is useful information for our aging grandparents, parents, and selves.

Lastly, I would encourage my undergraduate senior self to be more proactive and urgent in job search. Granted, I graduated in the midst of the economic recession, and I think my peers and I (as with the rest of the civilized world) were reactive to the events that transpired on Wall Street and trickled down to the everyman. As the recession continued to worsen, I felt stuck between Should and Must. The job search was hard and I was desperate, so I felt obligated about what I knew I should do - that is, settling for the status quo, doing what I thought I was supposed to do, opting for the smoother journey with minimal to no risk. To me, that meant accepting the first full-time job I was offered in the same city I was grew up in, at a job that was low-paying and frankly not challenging. But must, must is our job as our career and our calling. It is the overarching and self-gratifying belief and attitude that our life, our essence, and our work are one and the same.

So to my undergraduate self, I would say: If you're ever at the crossroad again, dare to do what you must do. Do what you were called to do. Do what you enjoy most. Do what makes a difference.