Monday Motivation: Choices

          I totally forgot it is Monday, hence why this post is going up later than it normally does. One of the perks of going to a Catholic Liberal Arts college is that we get the day after Easter off, which is just lovely. This weekend I spent up here while everyone else went home. I got a ton of work done and gave two tours to some amazing families today (shout out to all you guys!). So this post is going to be all about choices. One of the biggest decisions you will have to make is coming up. It is the one where you decide where you want to spend the next four years of your life, AKA, which college you plan on going to. This post is going to be about how I made my decision to come to SMC and why I think having a liberal arts degree is so amazing. 
        So first things first. Why did I choose SMC? I would be totally lying to you if I said that my first choice through my whole college process was SMC. It actually wasn't on my radar until I got dragged up to Vermont to look at schools for my twin brother. I originally thought that I wanted to spend these four years in New York City. My twin brother was looking at schools in Vermont and my parents decided that we would take a quick look at SMC. A lot of my family went here so that is how we knew about it. My tour was fantastic, I loved the size of the school and just the overall feel. To say the least, I fell in love with it. Eventually I got my list down to two schools towards the end of April and SMC was one of the two. I untimately decided on SMC because I just had that feeling that it was were I needed to be. It has honestly been the best decision of my life. 

[p.s.- the weather has been amazing lately!]
L to R: Courtney, Keri, Kelsie, Lida, Candice and Me!
(picture by Lida)

       Second talking point: why is a liberal arts college so amazing? We are past the tears, the fist bumps in the hallways and the obnoxious but necessary Facebook posts that say "GOT INTO (add college name here)." For all of you seniors in high school, you have a few weeks to make your final decision. But let me give you a little insight first.
     I am sure that you, as students, have heard of all the types of schools that you should be going to. Schools like STEM schools (science, technology, engineering and math) were probably floating around your bubble of perspectives. I know that they were floating around all of my college lists too. I thought that they were the "safe bet". 
     In this country our debt total is up to $1 trillion and a lot of college graduates have a hard time finding jobs when they graduate. That was something that worried me a lot. Some majors such as engineering, biology or computer security are a growing job market, so they may seem like safe choices. And I can probably bet that you have heard things like philosophy or art degrees are a waste of time? Am I right? I knew it. But just hear me out.
     Here's my argument. If you have a fascination with dead authors that speak oddly to you, performing arts or painting pictures while still taking classes to make you think critically and out of your comfort zone, then a liberal arts college and, eventually degree, is the thing for you. Do it. I promise you wont regret it. I haven't regretted it since. 
     Coming into school, I was convinced that I wanted to be a teacher. After thinking about it for a little bit I decided that teaching was not my life calling, so I switched my major to business because I thought it would be the most practical. After two classes I was convinced that business was not my calling in life either and, thankfully, at the same time I discovered Media Studies and fell in love. I am so thankful that I go to a liberal arts college because if I didn't, I would have probably had to switch schools completely to get a major that I truly enjoyed.
     Besides the fact that switching majors is really easy, it is also awesome that we get to experience things from all different academic area with our Liberal Arts Requirements. If I was not able to take classes outside of my main area of study, I would have not discovered my love for Media Studies and Digital Arts. Not only did I learn things that I do like through those classes but I also learned things that I definitely do not like, things like economics, math and science.
     Businesses today are constantly evolving and changing. This is very unlike the era that our parents and grandparents grew up in. Today people in the work force move from job to job requiring you to know more about different subjects rather than just one or two really well. 
     One of the biggest things in life now a day is to be able to communicate. You could have the world's greatest idea but if you can't tell any one about it or articulate it, nothing will happen. Take the guy that invented post it notes for example: he had an awesome idea but honesty, who would have taken him seriously if he didn't know how to articulate his idea of paper with glue on it to other people? A liberal arts degree helps you to do all that. It helps you to create the idea, then how to design it, how to write about it and then finally how to market it within your company or even the world.
     So my advice? Go with the Liberal Arts school and don't focus solely on one thing. Take advantage of being a biology major but having the opportunity to take dance or Adventure Film-making (which I am SO EXCITED to take next semester). Make your self marketable by being a mut; don't be the person that can be put into only one category. Be an English major with a chemistry and theater double minor. Take classes that interest you. After 4 years when you leave, you won't be a stranger to all the world has to offer! 

Love,

Susanna

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