I really enjoyed college, actually. Even some of my non-major classes helped me narrow down what I definitely didn’t want to do. I took a journalism class my freshman year thinking I wanted to go in that direction and hated it, so I pivoted with enough time to do English with an emphasis in creative writing.

I took a few theater classes, because the overlap is good and I needed electives – intro to acting (I was bad), screenwriting (fascinating!), and then a science fiction class that was a study in the novel versus the movie adaptation, and that was really really cool. I learned a lot there. I took 16th century English poetry (interesting! i liked the professor more than the material) and then “dreaming through the middle ages” which was dream poetry – a very common archetype of writing poetry back then. Also, ps, everything is about religion and Christianity so if you grew up in the church like I did, you get a step up.

I took african american literature which was, i kid you not, literally life changing. You think you aren’t racist and then you take a class like that and you see how it’s all stacked against black people and always has been. Eye opening. I studied abroad in oxford, England for a semester and that ruled too. I took japanese and British literature through colonialism. Really important to study. I can see how if I hadn’t studied those things then I could have easily been complacent with life and settled for being a mediocre white woman in the south and let that be my entire identity. This is why it’s important to learn about minority voices.

I took soccer. I took creative writing classes that i think i rambled about a few weeks ago. I took weight lifting for my PE requirement over a maymester so i was suddenly in the gym for 3 hours a day for 3 weeks… weird but i didn’t mind it over the summer when it wasn’t as packed. Take classes that seem interesting to you or with professors you’ve heard good things about. That’s how you find fascinating subjects. The more things you know, the better. I can’t tell you how many times my classes have made an impact on my life.

Have fun! Learn lots! My biggest piece of advice is to talk to your teacher, even one or two things after class. Let them get to know you. It’ll help so much with your confidence and if you ever need their help.