{"id":4091,"date":"2018-03-13T11:00:01","date_gmt":"2018-03-13T11:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/?p=4091"},"modified":"2021-10-15T20:56:33","modified_gmt":"2021-10-15T20:56:33","slug":"4-years-to-life-fearing-the-unknown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/blog\/4-years-to-life-fearing-the-unknown\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Years to Life: Fearing the Unknown"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Preparing for a year of firsts and lasts. She\u2019s taller and looks older but my baby sister, Maddie, is going to be a freshman in college while I\u2019m a senior in college.<\/p>\n<p>This year has been full of nostalgia. Maddie has been dress shopping for her last prom, she\u2019s applied and been accepted to Eau Claire, and she already has her graduation party date picked out. But it wasn\u2019t until she asked me to take her college supply shopping that it fully hit me.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re both pulling on our big girl pants next year, for her next four years of college and for the start to the rest of my life. The pressure is real folks.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 100%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-4091 gallery-columns-1 gallery-size-full'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"883\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/03\/marshals.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Sami&#039;s sister shopping for college supplies.\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-4094\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/03\/marshals.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/03\/marshals-300x166.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/03\/marshals-768x424.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/03\/marshals-1024x565.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/03\/marshals-1080x596.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-4094'>\n\t\t\t\tI would highly recommend checking out Marshalls for your college necessities! Photo by Sami Johnson &#8217;19\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 100%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-2' class='gallery galleryid-4091 gallery-columns-1 gallery-size-full'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"883\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/03\/all_the_stuff.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"College shopping finds\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-2-4092\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/03\/all_the_stuff.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/03\/all_the_stuff-300x166.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/03\/all_the_stuff-768x424.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/03\/all_the_stuff-1024x565.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/03\/all_the_stuff-1080x596.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-2-4092'>\n\t\t\t\tMy sister had quite the successful college shopping venture (this isn&#8217;t even all that we bought). Photo by Sami Johnson &#8217;19\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>We\u2019re both genuinely excited for this next chapter in our lives. However, we both also have concerns that bubble up from time to time. It\u2019s so strange that our fears align at such different periods of our lives.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Maddie&#8217;s Fears for Freshman Year<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Picking a major<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It feels like your major is going to determine the rest of your life. To an extent, yes, that\u2019s partially true. But once my sister starts learning about whatever she picks as her major, I think she will realize it\u2019s not as narrow as she might think.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Making friends<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Moving away from the people you see every day is uncomfortable. I think everyone worries about finding their group of people they fit in with. But everyone is in the same boat as you and also looking for people to spend their time with!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The roommate situation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Whoever out there gets my sister as a roommate, let me tell you, you hit the jackpot! She is hilarious, kind, organized, likes to have fun, and just an overall amazing human being. There is a lot of pressure that goes into picking the perfect the roommate. No matter what, you\u2019ll both have to learn how to live with another person and compromise. Even if your roommate isn\u2019t your best friend, if you respect one another you\u2019ll be fine.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Making the most of it<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Maddie said, &#8220;How I plan to make the most of my college experience is to push myself to try new things &amp; meet new people, to grow into myself &amp; to learn all that I possibly can about life&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>My Fears for Life After College<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Applying for jobs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Does anyone feel prepared for this? I\u2019ve had internships and picked part-time jobs within my field of study to amp up my resume, but I\u2019m still nervous about finding a job after graduation. Not just any job, the right job for me &#8211; I haven\u2019t learned what company culture I want, or even the perfect position for me. I know I will get there but the learning curve is steep on this one.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Making friends<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>How does one make friends as an adult? I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll run into people starting their adulting journey too, but this is still a fear of mine. Despite the worry, I\u2019ve learned that many things work out just fine in the end.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The roommate situation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I was assigned a random roommate my freshman year at WSU and it could not have gone better. We just signed a lease to live together for our fourth year of college, and she is like family to my sister and I. Parting ways with my roommate is going to be a challenge and while living on my own will obviously have its perks, it won\u2019t be easy.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Making the most of it<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I have one year left at WSU and I want to make sure I don\u2019t waste a second of it. I want to participate in as many things on campus as I can. I\u2019m sure both Maddie and I will be running around next year like chickens with our heads cut off with so many things to do, relationships to build and enjoying all of the firsts and lasts of the college experience.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 100%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-3' class='gallery galleryid-4091 gallery-columns-1 gallery-size-full'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"899\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/03\/sista-sista.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Sami and her sister Maddie enjoying a day of college supply shopping together.\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-3-4093\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/03\/sista-sista.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/03\/sista-sista-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/03\/sista-sista-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/03\/sista-sista-1024x575.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/03\/sista-sista-1080x607.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-3-4093'>\n\t\t\t\tPhoto by Sami Johnson &#8217;19\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>I\u2019m so grateful to have a loving, supportive, best friend of a sister who is only a call or FaceTime away when I need to laugh off something stupid I\u2019m obsessing over. As we filled her cart with all the college necessities I had filled my cart with four years ago (minus a mini fridge and microwave, she\u2019ll get mine that still work great), I couldn\u2019t help but feel almost all the same emotions that she is feeling.<\/p>\n<p>Four important years for her, life for me. What comes next has a lot of pressure on it for us both, but we know that good things are in store.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fearing the Unknown<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":4093,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1,1841],"tags":[1814,1784],"class_list":["post-4091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-admissions-blog","category-campus-life","tag-commit-transition","tag-res-life"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/03\/sista-sista.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7OGeT-13Z","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/119"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4091"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5135,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4091\/revisions\/5135"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/admissions\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}