College Experience

by Jennifer S.

I have only been a college graduate for a few months now and yet not a day goes by that I am not wishing I had never left. College was some of the greatest four years of my life. I know that sounds very cliché and everyone has different experiences but I do feel that it is all what you make of it.

I went into college not knowing a single soul (not even my roommate), no clue what I wanted to study, or how I was going to cope with this new lifestyle of living on my own, four hours away from home. With the help of a great roommate, the participation in many clubs and organizations, and attendance of various different social events, I opened up and made a bunch of new friends a long the way.

While in college I had to make two of the biggest decisions of my life: one was whether to join a sorority and the other to study abroad. My sophomore year I joined a local sorority of amazing girls known as Sigma Gamma Phi. Now I know sororities and fraternities may not be everyone’s cup of tea and sometimes they often come with a bad reputations but I couldn’t have made a better decision for myself nor asked for a greater band of girls to become a part of! They became my family while I was away from home.

My senior year I also chose to study abroad in Valencia, Spain for three and a half months. I learned so much about society, culture, the world, and my own independence while over there. I accomplished what I never deemed possible for someone of my height over there: cliff jumped, water canyonned, rode a camel, and traveled to multiple different countries. Now that was an opportunity of a lifetime and I am so thankful I was able to experience! I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone out there; no matter what height you are.

My reasoning for writing this was not to sit here and tell you all about the great things that happened to me in college, or to convince you to join Greek life, or to encourage you to study abroad. It was more to show you the things I accomplished even standing at a height of four feet three inches. I admit that I faced multiple challenges due to my stature during those four years, just like any dwarf would, but I never let them take a toll on what I wanted to make of my college experience. I went about my life just like any other student would. I want to encourage all of you to push forward and have faith in yourself, even though you may feel restricted by you height in certain situations. Never feel discouraged or down because of the possibility of not succeeding. I understand that there are many different types of dwarfism out there, all with different capabilities but if you put your mind to it I truly believe you can accomplish anything you desire to the best of your ability. I strongly urge everyone out there with Dwarfism to live on the edge and never let your height hinder your dreams no matter how outrageous they may be!