I'm not ashamed to admit that JMU wasn't my first choice, and I came to JMU after being rejected from Virginia Tech. I wasn't a good student when I was in high school. I was a "B" and "C" student and did the bare minimum to pass my classes so that I can spend more time at home playing video games. When I was a freshman and lived at the dorms, I didn't really have friends, went to the dining halls by myself, and went back to the dorms when classes were over to play video games. Then, sort of out of no where, I had this realization that if I continued to do what I did in high school and don't push myself, I would see the next 4 years as a waste of time and regret the choices I made. So every day, I made sure to never waste a minute of my day or regret anything I was working on or doing.
From that revelation and mentality, it pushed me and, at JMU, I...
- Gave several presentations and lectures and presented at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research
- Been awarded 2 research grants, 1 fellowship, and 1 scholarship amounting to a total of $7000
- Exhibited my architectural and artistic works in 6 exhibitions with 1 exhibition being my first solo exhibition
- Served as the Studio Theatre Technical Director overseeing and supervising the production of more than 20 shows
- Scenic designed for 7 shows with 2 shows awarded for 'Outstanding Scenic Design'
- Worked on 40 shows with 90 theatrical credits (worked multiple roles for shows)
- Achieved mostly all A's with few B's making Dean's and President's List every semester since Fall of 2021
- Completed an undergraduate architecture thesis and was awarded with 'Best Undergraduate Architecture Thesis'
While my accomplishments are applaudable, the constant grind and working had its tolls. I wasn't sleeping. I wasn't eating properly. I was a walking zombie. I was constantly telling myself to keep going and keep pushing, wanting to do more and achieve more. What was the cost? Time. Time that I could've spent sleeping. Time I could've spent hanging out with friends. Time that I could've spent working on personal and passion projects I had.
So when I look back at my 4 years, I wish I ...
- Listened to my friends when they tell me to sleep more.
- Learned that there are limits and it is okay to stop. Nothing is worth killing or dying over.
- Set boundaries really early on.
Despite that, I don't regret anything I did, and I would do it all over again if I had the chance.
So as I close this chapter of my life, I look forward to what the future holds especially with my job at Clark Construction and operating my own studio "KDA STUDIO". For now, I go back to bed. I have a lot sleep to catch up on.
I also posted this on my linkedln page: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7332994803565039616/