I was thinking the other day, that I have several sort-of “regrets” from my university years. While I am sitting here trying to figure out what I want to do next or in the future, I’m realizing it would have been easier if I had done certain things in college.
1) Studied abroad – I always had dreams of doing this when I was in High School, but then I spent my first couple of years in college wrapped in this dysfunctional relationship. By the time that was over and I started doing things for myself, it was almost going to be my senior year and a little late to study abroad. I could have done a summer program or done a program in the spring right before graduation. Since I was actually eligible to graduate a semester early, I could have done an abroad program for the experience (not focusing on getting specific credits since I had all the requirements to graduate) and I was seriously contemplating doing this, but instead I decided I just wanted to finish school and get on with my life. And so, I chose not to study abroad and push on to my future, get out of the states ASAP and I ended up here in Korea. This is yet another classic example of me worrying, focusing, and planning on the future too much that I forget about the importance of living in the NOW.
You may ask, well what’s the big deal? I am in Korea after all…working, teaching, and living in another country. But, while I’m thinking about what I want to do next and where I want to go, I see that traveling as a student is safe, there’s a lot of support, and it would have been a fantastic experience and chance to live in another culture/country. Korea was also an easy decision for me…it was a big move, but not that big of a risk. I knew people here, I was familiar with the language and the culture and have been here twice before. Now I want to do more traveling and experience other cultures, but there’s no more, I guess, “safety nests.” So, I just need to put my big girl pants on, and take a risk, and do what I really want. (I’m just sayin, taking advantage of study abroad as a student would have been great.)
2) Been more involved on campus – I went to a huge school – the University of Minnesota. There were TONS of opportunities to get involved as a student, but I didn’t take them. Maybe if I had, I would have been exposed to even more different kinds of people, activities, and had the opportunity to explore more to gain better insight to what I truly like to do or don’t.
3) Considered a major more carefully – Although I did enjoy my major in Human Resource Development, and I am capable of working in the field, I’m not sure if that’s what I want to do anymore. From the beginning, I chose it because I do enjoy working with people and I feel a sense of fulfillment in helping and seeing people succeed…that is also why I enjoy my current job at teaching English at a university. But rather than the actual job of teaching, I feel more enjoyment from the smiles I get from students, positive greetings, and the feeling I get when I see them enjoying themselves and feeling good about their improvement. I chose HRD because it does fit my empathetic and wanting to see people succeed personality, but I also chose it because it is somewhat safe. People in HR can usually make a decent living and I knew if I chose the path to begin working in an office for a company then eventually I could probably make a decent living. However, now it has been nearly a year since I graduated, and I have been in Korea for 8 months…and I am somewhat afraid of this time here coming to an end because I simply am unsure of what is next and I don’t even think I want to go back and do what I went to school for.
4) Learned a language I could use – I chose to learn Korean in college for obvious reasons. My mom advised me to learn Chinese instead, but I wanted to learn Korean. NOW looking back, I wish I would have learned Spanish. I took Spanish for a few years in high school, and I really wish I would have continued with it in college. Knowing Spanish can open many doors to opportunities in a number of countries, and also with America’s increasing population of Spanish-speakers, would have helped me there too. Knowing Korean is nice, but I’m also nowhere near fluent, and although it has improved while I have been here, I don’t see myself using it in future situations. Korea is the only country it is used as a main language. There isn’t a demand for a knowledge of the language in the states, and I don’t think I’ll ever come back to live here for an extended period of time. I could have just studied Korean while staying here, and studied a different language in college. At the VERY least, I could have pushed myself more to take both Korean AND Spanish, but I didn’t.
5) Taken my future more seriously and done more internships. Any experience is at least experience. Also, there are so many great opportunities to do internship programs abroad…should have done it.
I know that this blog post seems negative and like I’m sulking in regrets, I’m not. The point is that I also feel that it is important to reflect upon decisions we made in the past, and how they’re affecting our present, so that we can learn and put that knowledge towards our future.
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