The Epilogue of My Undergraduate Career
My bachelor diploma arrived in the mail this week and I have been brandishing it around like an 8.5 x 11 inch trophy. The piece of paper represents the culmination of my undergraduate experiences. Much like an epilogue of a novel, it ties together my last four years and places an authoritative stamp of finality - "You've graduated and will be moving on to bigger things. Finis."
I look back at my undergraduate career with mixed emotions (which I am partly to blame). The amazing thing about our education at USC is the opportunity to learn about vastly different subjects across a broad spectrum, like a Renaissance scholar. You can major in biological sciences and pursue a minor in songwriting or you can double major in neuroscience and business administration. As Keith Ferrazzi said, "Human ambitions are like Japanese carp; they grow proportional to the size of their environment".
The "environment" is most certainly abundant at USC and in the greater Los Angeles area. The only limitation is the person's willingness to step out of his or her way to seize the experiences available and to fully utilize the renown "Trojan network". I cringe as I think back to my freshman self, as we sat on the floor in our dorm and talked about our dreams and aspirations for the next four years at USC. While others hoped to become an influential member of the Undergraduate Student Government, become a member of the Order of the Torch, or study abroad in Barcelona, I stated that I wanted to cut back on my involvement in organizations and focus on getting good grades in order to get into dental school. Today, those people whom I conversed with freshman year seem to have achieved their goals and more. They have found a comfortable social niche on campus and have maximized their undergraduate experience. As for me, I achieved my freshman year goal too - getting into dental school. Still, it was foolish to believe that I would maximize my undergraduate experience by locking myself away in my room with my books. Looking back, the three biggest regrets of my undergraduate experience are:
Not taking advantage of all the amazing experiences that USC had to offer, whether it be service organizations, student government, club sports, or study abroad programs.
Not finding a permanent social niche
After eight semesters, not being able to pinpoint a specific course or professor and say "hey, this course/person made a monumental impact on my educational career/my world view/my dreams and aspirations". And not having found an inspirational mentor.
Despite these undergraduate shortcomings, I still look back at the past four years with fond memories. I look forward to continuing on as an eight-year Trojan, building upon the positive aspects and the shortcomings of my undergraduate career.
