Class registration should not be severe source of student stress, anxiety

COURTESY PHOTO / WM.EDU

With registration on our minds, thinking about which classes to take and maybe considering majors, it seems that there is no time to slow down.
Registration should be an exciting time, because we are looking for classes that interest us.

Instead, when I am talking to my friends about registration, the phrase, “I’m trying to get my life together,” usually pops up. The pressure placed on registration is unhealthy and removes the potential joy that can come from being enrolled in classes that we are excited about.

Registration shouldn’t be a “make-or-break” moment in our lives as students.

Although your number-one choice for a class may be full and you can’t receive an override, some other classes may end up making a greater impact on your life.

At this age, I don’t think we should strive “to get our lives together.”
I don’t know one person my age who knows exactly where they are going to be in the next 10 years, let alone what they are going to do tomorrow.

College is the time for experience, making mistakes and testing out the waters. I came into college with no idea what my plan for the future was.
Actually, that’s not completely accurate; I thought I was going to be pre-med.

In the fall semester of my freshman year I took BIO 225, and let us just say I am now an English major.

When I first arrived at the College of William and Mary, I had no idea which class to take to fulfill my COLL 150 requirement. I love to read, and I thought taking a class that would require me to read would be a refreshing break from biology, so I enrolled in an English course called Englishwomen Artists.

To say the least, it became my favorite class of that semester, and, thinking of it, my entire time at the College so far.

I felt engaged with the texts we were reading and realized that this is what I love to do. I decided to ditch the pre-med track and follow my passion.

As cheesy as it sounds, I am not exaggerating when I think about how much that class meant to me.

Don’t disregard your second-choice classes, or the ones the that seem “weird” and “unimportant,” because they could possibly make the deepest impact on your life.

Registration is important because it helps guide you on your college career path, but it does not define it.

If you don’t get one class you want, it does not mean that you won’t graduate or get your degree on time.

Even when Banner crashes, there are always alternative options, and it is important to be open to them.

Email Isabella Miranda at immiranda@email.wm.edu

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