This is my third year at EMU. It also looks to be my last, thanks to dual-enrollment credits in high school, summer courses, and careful planning. Though this semester has been a mess for me, it seems like I will still be graduating after a month or so of summer classes here, when this semester ends.
College has been some of the best and some of the worst times of my life. I have greatly enjoyed my time at EMU — I have had tremendous professors who are strongly intelligent and passionate and who care deeply about their students. My semesters on campus were marked with roommates who I grew very close with, and though paying for campus housing was expensive and I did not take full advantage of my meal plan, I liked living on campus.
My time in college has also represented a great deal of health and mental health challenges. I had always had trouble with my sleep, but near the end of my high school senior year, my sleep problems began to rapidly get much worse. My mental health got worse too: having trouble concentrating, being unable to sleep sometimes, and being unable to wake up when I needed to all took a notable toll and added to some issues that I was already experiencing. Some of this was because of college itself, with late nights and stress; some of it was because of timing in my life. My journey with my body and brain has been arduous, with doctor appointments between classes and sleep studies over breaks, but I have felt support and understanding at EMU.
Despite the challenges, I have loved actually having opportunities to apply myself and take courses that I felt were valuable and interesting. That was largely new to me as of high school. Upon coming to college, I had instructors who were impressive at their discipline, kind and good at communicating, and excellent at teaching. It was also fairly new to me to see all of these things in one teacher.
Some of the things that have served me well throughout my time here have been researching programs, being vulnerable and open, being curious and excited to learn, being flexible and resilient, and being humbly grateful.
Researching programs — and actually reading the handbook and other readily available university literature — revealed many areas where I had previously thought I only had one option, but actually had multiple. This applies to course requirements, major programs, and even things like taking graduate classes or tests to earn credit for something I have spent time learning on my own. The more you take classes that you really care about in areas you aren’t required to, the more able you are to apply yourself broadly. This is a huge aspect of a liberal arts education.
Being vulnerable has been important in a couple ways. Primarily, this helped my learning process. Choosing to write in my coursework, have discussions with friends, and speak up in classes about things that I was somewhat embarrassed about — even if that was admitting I did not know something or was confused — allowed me to be more open to new ideas as well as to be more in touch with what was going on in my thoughts. Also, it encouraged me to put myself out there and ask to meet with people I otherwise would not have spent time with, and to have meaningful conversations and relationships I otherwise would not have had with professors I admire and respect. Finally, vulnerability with my professors and peers has been a process of trying to understand my limits — especially when my health and mental health are particularly poor — and getting adequate help with what is going on.
Curiosity and excitement for learning are related to openness, also giving space to engage in ways that keep coursework relevant and interesting, even if there are parts that are tough or do not feel stimulating. The research I mentioned is also part of this – if you plan well, you can take more meaningful classes in the same amount of time, but you have to be curious and seek this out.
Flexibility and resilience have been huge with the difficulties I have encountered — being able to take things in stride and also to persevere whenever possible keeps me going even when it feels like things are falling apart. I am still learning this, and it is closely tied to knowing my limits.
Finally, one of the biggest things I have tried to practice while at EMU has been the art of humble gratitude. Faculty and staff are busy — respecting their time is crucial. We are fortunate enough to have a great many faculty who are excited to spend time with and pass knowledge on to students — faculty who genuinely want to know us and help us succeed. This is not something to squander, and it is also not something to take for granted without properly expressing gratefulness. Please, in the last weeks of school, take some time to say thank you to people who have impacted you here. They do not hear it enough and they deserve much more.
