Some Assembly Required

Ever buy one of those kits which has a label on the outside "Some assembly required"? Usually that means you have bought a box full of parts which you are then supposed to assemble into the picture on the box. Whatever the product is. Hopefully there are directions included. Hopefully you read and follow these directions in order to achieve your goal, the finished product.

Now. You are a college student. You arrived on campus as essentially a bundle of parts. You have been looking forward to and working on assembling these parts into a finished product. That product is a college graduate, you. Unfortunately, there have been no directions included to show you how to assemble yourself into graduate. This lack of direction can be discouraging. Sometimes this discouragement can take the form of assessing your self as Not Good Enough. Not up to it. Not at the right school, or whatever form you usual self-criticism takes. This can be difficult to withstand because no one is harder on you than you.

When these suspicions arise it is time to relax and take stock of yourself. You are enough. You are essentially a worthwhile collection of parts. What may have been lacking for you is clear directions. Unlike the product which includes printed directions you do not have such directions for your goal, a degree.

Recognizing this and realizing you have come a long way just to get to where you are can be encouraging. So. Realize you are good enough to finish. There is help available. Passing the classes that you have passed means you can do it. You have enough tools in your kit to assemble yourself as a graduate. You do. You really do.