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College changes your life — take advantage
 Tracy Ust
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Today marks the beginning of the final week of classes for the 2001-2002 school year. I remember thinking in September, "Is it May, yet?"
Well, Wednesday is May, and I made it through the school year. More importantly, I made it through college.
Before I got here, I'd heard that old adage that college will change your life, and at first I didn't believe it. Now that I am about to leave, I realize that it is true. In college you learn how to be a teacher, a psychologist, a journalist, a scientist. Most importantly, you learn how to become yourself.
This weekend I started thinking about how different I am now compared to when I came to SCSU in September of 1998. When I first came here, I was shy and quiet and unexposed to a lot of things in life. But then something changed. I started doing things. Things I'd never done before. Things I am glad did. Things I never had the opportunity to do before I came here. I whole-heartedly believe it was taking part in activities outside of my comfort zone that changed me.
Take this year as an example. I watched an excellent production of "The Vagina Monologues," listened to and learned from bestselling author and acclaimed filmmaker Michael Moore, learned about the Black Panther Party at the annual Ebony Night, attended several GLBT presentations and speeches and saw a variety of musical, cultural and theatrical events on campus.
Perhaps I never attended events like these at home because they weren't offered to me. Perhaps I stayed away from them because I was scared. Perhaps I didn't go to things like these because I was lazy and stuck in a routine.
I am forever grateful that I started going to speakers, presentations, events and speeches while at SCSU. I am sure there are hundreds I've missed, but the ones I have attended changed my life.
Another thing that changed my life while at SCSU was getting involved on campus. Of all the organizations I've been involved at SCSU, working as a resident adviser for more than half of my college career definitely changed me most.
Being an RA has helped me learn how to work through any situations. I've had crisis control training, mediation training, sensitivity training, in addition to just plain learning on the job how to deal with things. I tell you, three fire alarms in one night, harassment by residents, roommate conflicts, alcohol and drug problems and all the other situations RAs deal with have, if anything, shown me how I handle hard situations — sometimes nicely, sometimes not so nicely. It's definitely been an educational two-and-a-half years.
Working at University Chronicle has also taught me more than I thought it ever would. Of course, I've learned how to use certain computer programs, how to write journalism stories, how to be an editor. More importantly, though, I've learned how to manage my time, be a leader for others, work under a deadline, and stay calm while under pressure. It's not been easy, but I've done it. I am proud I did it, and I wouldn't wish I hadn't done it for anything.
I am also grateful that I had the opportunity to make friends from other parts of the world. I've met and become friends with people from Malaysia, Japan, Nepal, Poland, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tibet and probably many more that are escaping my mind right now. These people aren't just my "token" international friends, either. I've made connections with these people. I've enjoyed spending time with them, learning about their homes and sharing things about my home with them. They are truly my friends.
My advice to everyone at SCSU: prove the old proverb true. Find what will change your life, and do it. You will love school all that much more, and you will be sad when it's done, You will look back with a smile on your face and tears in your eyes.
This weekend I heard one of my favorite songs, Billy Joel's "I've Loved These Days," and I couldn't help but think about my days here at SCSU. He sings "So before we end and then begin we'll drink a toast to how it's been ... I've loved these days." I couldn't say it better.
Tracy Ust can be reached at: [email protected]
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