I have been a student at UNCC since 2019, and this year 2022 will be my final year enrolled in college. I am set to graduate in December 2022, less than 6 months from the day I am writing this post. One thing I’ve come to realize as I get closer to the finish line, the less I feel that the goal is within reach. Go to college, graduate, get a nice job, make a lot of money, raise a family, and retire. These are the expectations set before me, yet I feel oh so unprepared for that future. Self doubt lingers within all corners of my consciousness. “Am I doing enough?”, “Am I really qualified to work in a professional setting?”, “When do I actually start feeling like an adult?”. Self-doubt is a disease that gnaws at the mind, it will always be there, but it up to the will of the individual to push through it.

One more Summer class, and four Fall classes left, and then I’m done. Over eighteen years of my life have been spent getting an education, and that chapter of my life is rapidly coming to an end. School and part time jobs is all I’ve really ever known, so stepping away from that lifestyle, to a completely new one is generating some of the strongest nervous anticipation I’ve ever experienced.

I have no idea if I’ll end up making the right decisions, which is quite frightening, as this is arguably one of the most important parts of my life that may determine the rest of my life. However, all I can really do is try my best, and strive to be the best me. Sure, I’ll make mistakes, but as long as finish my education strong, apply myself, and sell myself to employers properly I’m sure I’ll end up alright. I have so many fantastic friends and family who have supported me along this journey, and the last thing that I want to do is disappoint them.