A patient mindset for class registration

As I approach my sophomore year, one of the things I looked forward to, yet dreaded simultaneously, was the housing selection process. I planned to live with three other girls in a four-person apartment with a kitchen. In reality, we got the exact opposite of that, ending up having to split into doubles due to our late pick time.

Although the process was initially disappointing, I was able to find beneficial aspects of where I will live next year. I do not believe we could have handled the housing process better because we thought about our options beforehand, and when presented with our limited choices, we chose and accepted what we were given.

By going through this process, I realized people need multiple back up plans for not just deciding housing at college, but for any decision in life. There will be times where several options are apparent, yet perhaps none of the options are an obvious or desirable choice. By having these roadblocks, it allows you to learn how to stop and reflect.

Life is not a book where you can skip a chapter or two ahead and find out what happens next; it is more of an Internet page that is slowly loading and revealing more parts of itself as time passes. While waiting for the page to load, you need to learn that the page may not be what you are looking for.

People also need to learn how to be patient and anticipate what comes their way, no matter what it is. Have the strength to allow something to occur when it will, but do not procrastinate a decision once the time has come.  Prepare if you can, and then live out whatever your choice is.

I did not initially have this mindset while I went through the housing process because I thought I was guaranteed a quad. As time went by and less quads were available, reality hit me and I had to live with the outcome. Hopefully, I can take this mindset with me as I decide on my classes. Picking classes will be one of many decisions I have to make that might either be joyous or disappointing, but whatever the outcome may be, I think it is better to accept it and learn to seek out the best.

If people do not do this, then they may never be satisfied with anything, and this is not a great way to live. This mentality might stop people from even trying to achieve things, and this could end productivity and higher aspirations. I would rather try to achieve something and fail than never try, because winning does not determine success—effort does. As long as I attempt something, I am a winner.

If more people were to think like this, maybe there would be less time spent on dissapointment and more time spent on acceptance and striving for more.