B.S., Food Science: CHECK! Lab goggles aside, I’ve learned so much about myself these past 4 years at Penn State. So many feelings and thoughts have come out of these college days, but I simply couldn’t resist writing about the five big ones that I’ll take with me for the long haul…
1: How to Leave the Comparison Mentality at the Door
I struggled with this through high school too, but I would say that my experiences on a college campus truly allowed me to let go of trying to “fit the mold”. In comparison to my Food Science peers, who all seemed to have a more technical mindset than I did, was initially extremely intimidating. I see myself as a science-loving creative. While optimization and the chemistry behind the behavior of food ingredients is amazing, making something that nobody else has thought of excites the heck out of me.
I’ve always been more interested in the bigger picture: how I can help other people suffering from IBD like I have. Therefore, nutrition, gut health, and overall wellbeing has always been the backbone behind my approach to Food Science. Honestly, most professors and other people learning with me don’t even know what ulcerative colitis is; it would be almost impossible for them to try and totally understand my career goals. A key turning point for me was realizing that there is room for us all to bring our own unique set of experiences and talents to the same table, and I don’t have to try and change my natural interests and talents to contribute!
2: How a Major Does not Define My Interests
In my opinion (after looking back), a college major is simply a set of guidelines to provide me with the resources and education needed get on the right track. A standardized map, if you will.
There was much pressure to hone in on one major/degree as I graduated high school and entered college. I knew Food Science was my career interest for a long time, but I wrestled with how I could bring my love of nutrition, creativity, and writing into a very “black & white” science curriculum. Honestly, this little blog helped me navigate this more than anything else has! It’s been my creative outlet, my space to voice my thoughts.
The importance of pursuing hobbies and skills outside the borders of a standardized degree has been one of my biggest realizations from college.
3: How to Articulate my Goals & Stick to Them
It’s sooo incredibly easy to get caught going through the motions. Going with the flow of a pre-set well-defined standardized path is easy, going off the beaten path is not!
I’ve found myself getting lost in the flow of required classes and seemingly pointless lab reports WAY too many times. By the end of some weeks, I was convinced that I chose the wrong major. I totally fell into the dangerous loop of constantly questioning myself, which I’m sure you can relate to if you’re in your early 20’s! Nobody seemed to understand where I wanted to go or the type of impact I wanted to have in my career- which was incredibly frustrating for a long time. Turns out, I was actually the one who had to sit down and organize my goals.
By the end of my Junior year (which was much too late, if I’m honest), I finally wrote out a short, concise paragraph to describe the jumble of thoughts and ideas in my head. I use it as a grounding safety blanket in a way to make sure I’m sticking to what I want instead of being influenced by other opinions.
My goal: To create and develop products that enhance gut health and overall wellbeing, making healthy choices convenient and delicious.
Food is medicine, and I want to help educate & inform the world about how much of a difference it can make. I look back at that small, powerful sentence all the time!
4: How to Say No
NOBODY KNOWS YOU BETTER THAN YOU!
Your limits. Your interests. Your schedule. Your mood. Your strengths. Your weaknesses.
Life is too short to waste trying to force yourself into positions or relationships that you don’t add value to or that don’t add value to you. I’ve had my fair share of those situations over the past 4 years & if I’m honest, I’m sure I’ll have many more in the future. As a general optimist, it’s usually easier to say yes- just to see where it takes me, you know? But after making the “yes call” so many times, my mental and physical health through college has been shaky to say the least… If I were to do it all over again, I think I would have tried to set up stronger boundaries around what I know I can handle.
P.S. I feel as though this is especially imperative if you have any kind of autoimmune disease! Stress = Flares. For me, developing the ability to slow down and say “no” came with so much freedom.
5: How to Welcome the Unexpected
Coming from someone who has a Type A plan-loving personality, I didn’t figure this one out until a couple months ago and I wish I had sooner. In hindsight, being too closed minded has definitely been one of my strongest weaknesses as a student. Coming in to college with specific goals and big dreams is a good thing, but I feel as though I was too stubborn with my narrow interests that I probably skimmed over a lot of opportunities along the way! I was fully expecting to graduate college with a full-time job in the health & wellness space, moving out, making a living on my own, all the typical post-grad things. It had never crossed my mind that I wanted to dive deeper into human gut microbiome research or go back to school right away…
Fast forward to now: I would consider all of my future plans to be totally unexpected. Grad school wasn’t in the picture, gut health was not a priority of mine, being in a relationship was not in the cards, and starting a blog really hadn’t even crossed my mind before I started college 4 years ago!
My ulcerative colitis diagnosis was a big factor in most of these life pivots, but I feel like much smaller events can result in the most unexpected doors to open as well. With many, many prayers and the support of the closest people in my life, the unexpected feels right at the moment.
For that and so much more, I feel content & so thankful to have had the college experience I did (COVID-19 and all). Penn State, you will always be special to me and I am so excited for another 2 years to come!
M.S., Food Science: pending!
xoxo – hannah
