Coming to Terms with Coming of Age
Christina McManus's ’26 advice to underclassmen is to find what matters to you, and focus on that. (Christina McManus/The Santa Clara)
As a senior, it is hard to quantify what experiences are worth it. I have won intramural soccer, a round of Hut Trivia and research awards, and taken time off to travel through Europe.
All of those things are parts of how I spent college, but what do they say about me? College always completes a characters’ bildungsroman, but life has so much more to it than just university. As I reflect on this time, I’d like to offer some advice to underclassmen based on what I’ve learned.
While I am proud of my academic achievements, I can’t help but reflect on the fact that I’ve been burdened by my proclivity to always give school my all. Not being able to let go and care about other things shadowed my study abroad experience in London. Rather than just enjoying life in Europe, I was constantly thinking about school. If I go to graduate school in Europe, I want to fully engage and hopefully let myself live a little.
One thing that I can say for certain was worth the effort would be my commitment to reading deeply, diversely and frequently. Do not let yourself be bound by a single genre. Live a thousand lives instead of just one.
It is not about the grades, but rather becoming a more interesting person and maybe casually mentioning that one time that Atilla the Hun crossed the frozen Danube—but only if it is relevant in conversation. It is kind of embarrassing if you bring up Atilla when not relevant. Reading a lot of books also makes you interesting, so do that. And find others who also read and talk to them.
College is an opportunity to make yourself a more interesting person as you self-actualize. I genuinely believe that each year at college, I become closer to the person I am supposed to be. This happened through experiences, friendships and classes. I discovered my academic interests slowly and developed hobbies, like reading and running, that I hope to carry for the rest of my life.
Intellectual curiosity is a crucial part of who I am and I am thankful to have been able to enroll in such a wide range of classes. I challenge you to focus on becoming a more educated and interesting individual with every class you take.
Your professors have spent years researching the topics they teach and they want you to find these topics interesting. Go to office hours. Maybe even cry during office hours. But most of all, build relationships and intellectual curiosity.
This mindset led to some of my biggest academic achievements, including a research fellowship and research award through the history department. Explore your passions in the classroom, and then be proud of all you have accomplished. Adjust expectations and do things for yourself. Do not let comparison bog down your college experience.
Invest in making yourself someone you would be interested in. It is important to note the distinction between doing things for yourself versus the perception of yourself. Both are important, but live for yourself.
And remember, no one knows what they are doing. What is important is that you are trying to figure it out and slowly learning from your mistakes. You will realize that not everything matters. Find what does matter, and focus on that.
The time will pass anyway, as they say. Don’t stress about the time, but do make the most of it. Don’t spend your college years on your phone. Make memories with friends and check things off your bucket list. Take this unique time in your life to figure out what you want to do with your life. You do not need to know everything, just figure out who you want to be.