Dear Class of 2021…
Advice from a College Dropout
You’re about to enter few of the most memorable (and frustrating) years of your life so congratulations 🎉.
I know most of you are eager to leave your house and your parents — I remember how excited I was for that.
But I want to tell you what I wish someone had told me when I was a freshman.
College has played a huge role in my personal growth, both as a leader and an individual.
Yet, I decided to drop out of college this semester 🤘. I decided to escape from the prison of higher education that was limiting me from reaching my true potential.
But if there’s someone I wish someone had told me before I started college, it would be to understand that college is way more than your Grade Point Average 🔑🔑🔑.
I attended college as a first-generation student, thinking of college as a medium to help me get a job. With this mentality, all my time and energy was spent on studying for meaningless midterms and term papers.
I’m not saying don’t study for your midterms and classes; I’m just saying to not let that be your “college experience”.
Most of you will spend too much time on cramming and memorizing for exams that you’ll forget as soon as you step outside the class (and that’s fine).
However, the tipping point for me took place as soon as I stopped prioritizing my GPA and focused on discovering myself.
College, as much as it’s about grades, is about growing up and discovering who you are and what you are good at.
Due to social media apps like Snapchat and Instagram, we know more about our friends and their lives than we know about ourselves 🔑.
Ironically, as 17 and 18-year olds, we’re expected to make the biggest decision of our lives when half of us can barely make spaghetti 🐸☕️.
Yet, it’s that uncertainty, that pressure, those nights you spend on top of the roof of a building, thinking about your future that makes these moments some of your best times to look back upon.
It’s only once you leave the comfort of your parents you allow yourself to grow as a person and become mature. It’s only when you allow yourself to be alone, self-actualization and self-awareness takes place 🐣— that’s the knowledge that sticks forever.
That’s what college provides, a rollercoaster 🎢 of experiences.
Freshmen year: 😜
You want to go out, meet people, and attend parties 🍻.
Sophomore year: 😳
You’re still socializing, but internally, you’re lost and anxious about your future🔮.
Junior year: 😧
Reality hits because you’re almost at the age where you need to know what you want to do. Life gets real👀️️.
Senior year: 🤔
Well, I haven’t gotten to that yet, but I’m sure it’s along the lines of:
😊😬😰😭😶 😐🔫😵✌️
It’s the ups and downs, the all-nighters you’ll pull, the terrifying loneliness, the struggle of managing grades, part-time job, the alone moments on top of some roof looking at stars that help you discover and mold you into your true self.
College is more than grades and rubrics. A right college experience should teach you the importance of supportive circle of friends and embracing solitude and of course the importance of grit.
Just don’t limit your college experience. That feeling of truly figuring out your true passion, your dreams, and yourself is unfathomable.
So try different things. Join a club outside of your major, join a band 🎷or salsa dance team 💃🕺, crash an art class, go on 3 A.M. adventures 🌃.
The only regrets we have are the chances we did not take.
You may be the one writing the chapters of your college experience now, but soon, you’ll be the one reading them to your kids. Good luck 👍🙏.
Sincerely,
Keshav, a college dropout 🤘
