This is Me: The College Years

Between the holidays and Levi's birthday, I haven't kept up with my "This is Me" reporting.  But I'm back now, so let's get back on track, shall we?  For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, I found a "This is Me" challenge on Pinterest and have been busy attacking one section at a time.  This week's entry is the college years.  Here we go:
Did you attend college or a trade school of some sort?
I went to UVA (University of Virginia) in Charlottesville.  Wahoowa!

my gorgeous alma mater

                                 
How did you choose what you wanted to be when you grew up?
Well, I didn't choose in college.  In college, we were told to pick a major based on what we enjoyed, not so much on a future career.  I majored in psychology.  I enjoyed it, but when I left college,I quickly found that my degree was pretty much useless in that it really didn't direct me toward a particular field (in fairness, I wasn't but so aggressive with it).  I took a lame-o office job and hated it for many reasons, but one being that I couldn't fathom sitting down at the same desk, for the same 8ish hours a day, doing the same thing more or less day in and day out for eternity.  In brainstorming what else I could do, I kept coming back to how much I had enjoyed working with children (I had been a swim coach over the summer for 5 years).  And to kind of fast forward this story, I landed on teaching as my career.
What did you think was the hardest part of your chosen profession at the time?  Did it turn out to be?
I don't know if I really gave it much thought before entering teaching.  I would guess I worried most about being strong enough to maintain discipline in my classroom, but that turned out to be one of my strengths as a teacher.
What dumb things did you do during those years?
Honestly, I was kind of lame in college.  I had a serious boyfriend at the time and invested all my energy into that, thinking I was ready to get married and have kids immediately.  So my dumbest choice would probably have been not taking advantage of the relative lack of responsibility, amazing schedule, and tons of drinking opportunities to live it up and have a better time!  Oh, and I overdrafted my bank account constantly...
What good things did you do?
Well, I maintained a good GPA the whole time.  I had a lot of fun at Foxfields each year (our annual horse races/party day).  I grew up a lot and learned to appreciate my true friends and amazing family.
Did you live on your own?
I lived in the dorms my first year with a random roommate.  My second year I moved into a house with 5 other girls.  And then for my third and fourth years, I shared a 2-bedroom apartment with one other girl, while two of our other friends lived across the hall.
What life lessons did you learn?
I guess I would go back to my family here.  Before I left for college, I was so anxious to get out of Virginia Beach and go somewhere new.  And as much as I loved UVA, Charlottesville, and being independent, we all know where I ended up...mainly because I learned over those years how lucky I am to have a strong support system in my family.
What choices did you make that affect who you are now?
In the big scheme of things, I truthfully think of my college years as some of my least formative.  I'm sure I made some decisions then that affect me today, but nothing really sticks out.  I kind of feel like I spent those four years in a bubble and then got back on my track once I left...