Thanksgiving Thoughts

As this is my first post-college Thanksgiving, I thought I’d take a quick gander at what I’m most thankful for regarding the past four years. Today, I’m thankful…

…for rigorous coursework (most of the time).
It wasn’t until I got to graduate school that I realized how hard my professors pushed me—they set high standards for the depth of our critical thinking and the quality of our writing. This may have resulted in some frustrating grades and more than a few lonely late nights in the library, but it made me a better student in the long run. It’s tempting to scope out the “easy” classes or professors, and I definitely did my share of that as well, but I don’t regret taking introductory economics with hardest professor in the department. I may wish I could change that C on my transcript, but I don’t regret the class because I learned the most I possibly could from it.

…that my roommate turned out to be an incredible friend.
Going into sophomore year, my social situation was in flux, room draw was fast approaching, and I needed a roommate. Enter Caroline, the good friend of my freshman year neighbor. We barely knew each other but decided to give it a shot—something that turned out to be one of the best decisions of my college career. As it turned out, we shared a similarly quirky sense of humor, love of romantic comedies on DVD, and frozen yogurt. We fell asleep some nights talking about our families, friends, and every neurotic worry under the sun. The girl that started out as an answer to a simple problem turned out to be one of my best friends, something that I never could have predicted or planned.

…for Easy Mac and cereal.
I don’t care how good the food is on campus (or not). Sometimes, a college student must fend for herself, and that’s when macaroni and cheese in under three minutes becomes an indispensable facet of college life. And cereal? Cereal could have its own restaurant, it’s that versatile. Cheerios for breakfast, Cinnamon Life for lunch, Lucky Charms for dinner, and Reese’s puffs for dessert. What’s not to love?

…for free career counseling, workshops, and preparation.
I think that career counseling resources are some of the most underused and under-appreciated at universities today—take advantage! I met with a career counselor my freshman year just to learn more about their services and my options. Later, I had my resume critiqued many times, received cover letter revisions, and even did a mock interview for an internship application (which I got, thanks in part to my career center’s help). I also met with recruiters from Teach for America and the Peace Corps, attended a public interest law panel, and mingled with alumni from a variety of fields during multiple alumni-student professional networking events. In this economy, every bit of help is valuable, and I’m so glad that I didn’t ignore the career counseling resources available on campus.

Well, it’s time for some tryptophan and cranberry sauce—Happy Thanksgiving to all!