Moving forward

Karina Rodriguez | THE RIDER

As a high school student, I was constantly told to take a step back from my college courses and save some of my “easy” classes to boost my college GPA. Being a stubborn teenager meant that I did not yield, and left high school with all but one of my basics done.

While I have done well academically throughout my first year of college, this past summer presented a different issue. I had completed 15 hours during my first semester in college and 18 in the spring. By the time I started choosing my classes for the summer, I had realized that I had already checked off many of my degree requirements. 

 I had always understood that I completed two years of college as a high schooler, but what did not click was that I would finish my college career at the age of 19 and ultimately start graduate school. 

As a type-A personality, I had gotten into the habit of collecting my course codes and classes for the coming semesters during the summer. By the time I realized that I would be ready to graduate in summer 2021, it was time to apply to graduate school.

I sat in my room, contemplating how I had gotten myself into the position where I was already applying to a graduate program when I felt like I was barely getting the hang of my undergraduate education. 

One night, I sat against my bedroom wall, thinking about all the decisions it took me to get here. I ultimately had pushed myself forward through middle school and high school to get ahead in college. 

I concluded that I lived a life of self-progression, and it had always seemed to work out for me in the end. I knew that while I was scared to take the next step toward my future, it was time. The child in me kept telling myself to “be Dory” and “just keep swimming.”

The next day I applied for my master’s in information sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

This act of bravery affirmed that I was ready to take on the next journey of my life, and was one of the first times I truly believed that I could do anything. 

As I work through the last year of my undergraduate degree, I continue to urge myself to keep fighting toward my goals and to trust myself all the way. I encourage you to do the same.