#8341 This is going to be a long rant, but I have to get this off my chest. There are a couple main points to this so I hope you enjoy/agree/find this helpful.

My first year I came to Maryland I was a traditional Junior who tried and failed miserably to go into Economics. After my first semester I was on Academic Probation. Going into the next semester I had mandatory advising appointments before I could register or change my classes around because I failed a few. The advising center kept canceling my appointments (3 times) until it was already a few days into the semester until I could start my classes. Great, I started behind when I was already not doing well.

The next semester I did better, but not well enough to get off probation. I had a sit down talk with my parents who were pissed to say the least, but still understanding. After talking my therapist, taking some strength finder tests, and going over my transcripts with my parents we found that Psychology was probably my greatest strength. The only problem was that you have to have 2.7 to get accepted to the major and my grades certainly fell short.

I decided I was going to get everything in line that summer before the University had the option to dismiss me. This was not an easy task because every department fought me along the way for each class I was trying to get STAMPS for. The Economics department completely abandoned me after I told them I was going to switch majors and would not give me any STAMPS even though technically they were still my advising department. All the major departments I found interest in tried to kick me out the door when they looked at my GPA. I fought tooth and nail and finally found Kim Bethke (a great adviser in BSOS) who was willing to help me.

I took 4 classes that summer and got all A's. This certainly got me off probation, but not quite at the 2.7 level. I then picked up English as my major for the time being. I ended up graduating this spring triple majoring in English, Journalism, and Psychology; which took me about 6 years of college total.

I am aware that none of these majors are that difficult in comparison to others, nor did I graduate on time, but it is finally nice to say I am done! I guess this is a message to all those who are struggling out there to not give up. Don't let the University tell you that you are too stupid or just not cut out for college. If you're not doing well in your major, don't be afraid to try out some other options. Most importantly, the system is not set up to help students who are struggling, but to get rid of the students who don't want to fight for their education.

Even though I was able to combat my way from a 1.6 to a 3.4, I still believe restrictions on majors can be ridiculous. I do not see how failing certain classes that in no way reflect your ability to do well in other fields should have you marked with a scarlet letter. I was fortunate enough to be able to beat the system, but I really do think the University is losing some high potential candidates operating in such a way.

Also, for those wondering, I got a job working at the VA headquarters here in D.C. making $60,000 straight out of college. It may not be much,but my degrees are by no means useless even though society has led us to believe that anything outside of STEM is inferior.

#8340 I started getting cold sores this year, and I'm feeling really down about realizing that I have oral herpes. I read that 90% of people have oral herpes, but it still bothers me and makes me feel embarrassed. I also read that I'm not supposed to perform oral sex ever again (and assume I'm not really supposed to kiss either). Do I really have to live the rest of my life so differently now?

#8339 Sometimes I'm really jealous of my good friend. She and me are really similar, but it's like she's the better version of me.

#8338 Sometimes when I'm making pasta alone I get so bored waiting for the water to boil that I start eating the pasta dry.

#8337 More engineers, scientists, mathematicians, teachers and economists should pursue careers as politicians. I feel that they would do a better job than the community organizers and career politicians we have now.

#8336 I wanna be a spanking sub model for the internet but being a sub is boring to be and I don't think $500 a shoot is worth it.

#8335 So I'm living at home and my younger brother is driving me insane because all he does is borrow money from my parents and gets high. He spent the weekend literally high the whole freaking time he was awake. Out dog smells of pot because he's been around my brother. I can't talk to my parents about it because as long as he's not out slinging drugs or doing gang shit, it's fine. The asshole is waking and baking and he's got no damn job! Oh my goodness, who the hell does he think he is? He's always talking about running a weed business in Colorado and I'm so tired of his garbage. I really just needed to vent about this stuff.

#8334 to 8306 its okay, I have roughly the same GPA and got a job at a fortune 100. If you have time left still you need to get some extracurriculars ASAP. Something that shows real world engineering ability. Join robotics or terp racing or something. Or undergrad research is another good way to do this and profs are usually forgiving about GPA if you show legitimate interest and have read some papers etc. that's what did it for me, my whole interview was asking me about that stuff and they didn't even mention my GPA.