Becoming a Butterfly

Being a college student, time management is especially difficult. More so if you have a job, extracurricular activities, a social life, or all of the above. College can be stressful due to the competitive environment around your peers. It may not seem this way, but your classmates are the people that you have to compete with when it comes to finding a job. I honestly never see school as a competition, but at the end of the day, that's what it is. Out of all the people who are in the same major as you, going for the same kind of job.. what makes you stand out?


Going into my major of communications, my advisor told me that to stand out, I need to do more than just school. What would make me stand out is all the extra experience I have on top of my education. This includes extracurricular activities, internships, job experience, etc. Employers more often like to see that you are more than just a degree. This is what I like to think at least, to motivate me and push me to work harder.

I was never a good student in high school or ever at all before attending WSU. I had bad study habits and was the worst at prioritizing school. That was until I started practicing my study habits and after getting into my major, actually being interested in what I was learning. Since I couldn't rely on good grades to set me apart from my classmates, I knew that I needed to gain more experience that would make me good at what I want to do.

I took on every opportunity that I could find to build my experience. Although I have anxiety and get super nervous doing new things, I eventually got over my fears and got better at what I was doing. Examples include becoming a radio DJ for KZUU and actor for Cable 8 Productions. I never would have thought I’d be able to overcome my shyness.

In high school, I was that super shy and quiet girl who only talked to people if they talked to her. Even then, I was always really nervous talking to people who weren’t my friends. After high school, I went through a complete transformation. I was always sheltered growing up, so when I turned 18, I decided to rebel. As a naive 18-year-old, I saw myself as an adult, who had the legal right to make my own decisions and do what I want. This of course caused problems in my life, but I felt that it was right for me to build myself, my own way.

I became a lot more social and a lot less shy. When I was 19, I became a waitress, someone who had to talk to all sorts of people constantly while juggling the responsibilities of being a server. I did this to build my experience all around. Being a server takes a lot having to deal with people and maintaining the restaurant, building my multi-tasking skills and people skills.

Photos of me working at my first restaurant job!

My first year at WSU, I was 20. As an Asian-American student going into a highly caucasian populated school, I was extremely self conscious. This took a turn on my life from becoming a social butterfly in a short amount of time back to my anxious, nervous self. It was a huge culture shock and having to actually be an adult, taking care of myself, was new to me.

Two years passed and WSU has become my home. I went back to my social butterfly self and continued to build my experience more and more. Being involved with my extracurricular activities was the best decision that I’ve made. Although it was a huge step to join and start being a radio DJ and actor in the first place, I’ve built so much experience, no matter if I’m good at it or not. I’ve become way more confident and have a wide network. I’m only getting better from here! Not only is this good for my mental health, it is leading me down my path to success.