Being fearless is one of the greatest attributes we can have. When you are fearless, you allow yourself to grow out of your comfort zone and prepare to receive incredible opportunities that will shape you into the person you want to be.
My journey of being fearless goes back to when I became the first member of my family to graduate college. On May 13th, 2023, I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. My family came that day and it was the most amazing and emotional day of my life! I remember coming onto the stage, waving on the big jumbotron, and immediately hugging Dean Keane, the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. Walking on that stage was one of the proudest moments and achievements I ever received. I still cannot believe I graduated college and that I am the first generation Filipino American in my family to receive a Bachelor's degree. My family and I went to one of the elegant places in Bellagio to celebrate my graduation and had a big, beautiful dinner.
After graduating college, I went through many difficult experiences and challenges navigating post-college life. I struggled to find a decent job, apply for graduate schools, and even financially. I wasn’t able to save up to move out of state; however, these challenges I experienced led me to where I am today. I am now currently pursuing a wonderful Master’s program and working as a Graduate Assistant for the UNLV Center of Academic Enrichment Outreach Center, where I help and provide academic support for students who have a strong goal of pursuing a baccalaureate degree. There are five main lessons I learned from my gap year as a post-college graduate. If I could go back and tell 23-year-old Charlene, I would say, “It's okay, everything will work out for their own good.” There may be difficult experiences and challenges you face in life, but those challenges will help you grow, gain confidence, and become a wonderful version of yourself.
“Just breathe, just relax, it’ll be OK.”
I remember the days after I graduated from college. I was no longer a student, which felt strange because I was so used to going to school, doing my homework, assisting all the student organizations I was a part of, and working in the lab for 10 hours a week.
Two weeks after graduating from college, I started my brand new journey as a Youth Counselor. Leaving my home for three months and traveling to four different cities to serve and teach 1,000 youth from our church was one of the scariest yet most humbling experiences I have ever had. As I packed my big purple luggage, I felt anxious because this was my first time going out of state without my family. Even though I felt worried about leaving home for the first time, taking the step and accepting this summer job as a Youth Counselor made me feel more comfortable talking to different people and developed a sense of skills in providing a safe space for everyone. When I got hired as a counselor, I had an opportunity to stay at Brigham Young University’s Provo campus for three days for my training. I still remember the feeling as soon as I arrived on campus. I even felt like crying because I had never been so far away from my family before, but when I got to my dorm, I met my roommate, Tayah, who is one of the sweetest and most amazing people I have ever met. Our energies clicked right away and our similar personalities made us become best friends forever.
During my time at For the Strength of Youth Conference in Idaho and Utah, I met many more amazing counselors I worked with. They never made me feel alone with my job and made my Youth Counselor opportunity a life-changing experience that I would love to do again next summer. Going out of state for a job can be nerve-wracking at first, but when you allow yourself to take the risk and go for the job you want and get accepted, you will find yourself immersed in AMAZING and LIFE-CHANGING opportunities to meet new people and gain valuable skills that will be useful in your daily life and in your career.
“Happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time."
If I could describe my postgraduate life, it would be happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time. As mentioned before, I felt strange that I was no longer a student. During my postgraduate life stage, all my friendship circles from college gradually started to change. I stopped talking to some of my closest best friends that I used to go to cafes and lunch with. Some of my friends have gone to graduate school or work full-time. One of my friends recently told me that friends come and go. I don’t know about you, but for me, it's hard to grasp that statement because this is a reality that happens. You meet people in your life and they go to a different place or position. I remember feeling lonely during my gap year and feeling like I barely had anyone to talk to, but it made me realize that we all go through a phase where all of our friendship circles change, and that is completely okay. You may find you have not been in contact with your friends from high school, middle school, or elementary school, and that’s okay! As life moves on, your life will continue to evolve and you will find new people who are meant to be in your life.
"Life is just a classroom."
After my For the Strength of Youth conference summer job, I received a part-time job working at a Speech Therapy Clinic in Summerlin. My part-time job consisted of developing classes for children and their parents to enhance their children’s reading development and motor skills. I worked as a Developmental Instructor for three months, and in November, I ended up getting laid off because we did not have enough kids and parents to come to our workshops. Due to the inconvenience, my supervisor ended up pausing the workshops.
After getting laid off, I struggled to find a decent job. I went through various interviews and applied for 80 jobs on Indeed from December to January, and I felt discouraged about not being offered a job. The rejections I kept receiving made me feel like I was not good enough at finding a good job.
This past January, I found a preschool and pre-k teaching job on Indeed and ended up receiving this job position. Those cycles and applying for many jobs taught me that every rejection is one step away from an opportunity where you are meant to be. I worked as a preschool and pre-k teacher from January to June, and let me tell you, it was one of the most challenging yet rewarding experiences. I learned that working with children is never easy. It takes a full amount of patience, compassion, and emotional intelligence to work and manage children and their abilities to learn while helping them develop their social, motor, and intellectual skills. Being a teacher has taught me that in order to be fearless, you have to ditch your comfort zone and become enthusiastic and dedicated to work and foster children’s sense of motor and intellectual skills. My experiences as a teacher helped me develop my skills in leadership, communication, conflict resolution, decision-making, and time management. In life, you will encounter an experience where you KNOW you will have to get out of your comfort zone. I know it's scary, but the experience you will gain from it will be worth it.
"You just might find who you’re supposed to be."
The most significant part about my gap year and life after college that led me to where I am today was when I felt like I needed to change my career path. I had some people ask me, “Why higher education?” The answer is simple.
My love for higher education traced back to when I was in middle school. I was enrolled in the AVID program, or Advanced Via Individual Determination, which promotes students in preparation for college eligibility and success. My 7th grade English teacher highly recommended this program because she knew my skills and abilities were strong enough to tackle any challenges and that those challenges would help me prepare for success. The program also provided amazing opportunities to visit different universities growing up. I ended up visiting UNLV, Nevada State, CSN, and Dixie State University, now known as Utah Tech University in St. George, Utah.
In my undergraduate year, I was highly involved on campus and represented the Liberal Arts as a COLA Dean’s Student Advisory Council Representative. Having the opportunity to speak to many different students from my undergraduate career, gaining that enrichment experience from my middle school program, and being exposed to college preparatory and success at an early age all shaped my passion and desire to pursue my career in higher education.
This past April, I met up with one of my graduate coordinators for higher education and he provided many amazing opportunities, research projects, and wonderful career paths for this program. I felt the strong desire in my heart that I should go for this program and I eventually applied and submitted my application that month. On May 14th, 2024, I received an email and official letter saying that I was officially admitted to the Higher Education Program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. I remember bursting out with joy in the school hallway and I rushed to one of my closest co-worker’s classroom and I spilled the good news to her. We both felt very excited and just overall immensely grateful for this new opportunity and new chapter ahead. Two weeks after that day, I received a wonderful Graduate Assistantship job and I immediately accepted this new position.
Six months later, I am now in the third month of my first semester of my graduate Higher Education Program and it has been an amazing and life-changing experience for me. I am learning many wonderful insights, the history of universities and institutions, and how our higher education has evolved over the years. My main goal after pursuing my master’s program is to work in a Student Affairs Position as an Academic Advisor and hopefully land as a Director of Student Engagement one day. In life, sometimes you have to reroute your path until you find the things that make your soul happy. I am grateful to be brave enough to reroute my own path and eventually find the one that I am most passionate about, which is education and fostering student development and success in higher education.
“You're on your own, kid. You always have been.”
As Taylor Swift once said, “Scary news is you’re on your own now. The cool news is, you’re on your own now.” If you ever feel like you are struggling in life or feel like you are lost, just remember that things will get better. My experiences of losing my friendship circle from college, struggling to find a job, applying for 80 jobs on Indeed, and receiving multiple rejections led me to a better and more beautiful path. This is your life. You have the power to create and design the life that you want. Being fearless taught me to embrace the messiness and rejections life has thrown at me. I used to look at rejections as a negative thing; however, I learned that rejection is just a step away from the opportunity that is meant for us. The opportunity that is waiting will not miss us; rather, it will come to us at the right time. Whatever season you are in, keep going, chase your dreams, and know that YOU CAN STILL MAKE THE WHOLE PLACE SHIMMER!
About the Author
Charlene is LYF’s Lead Marketing Strategist and a first year graduate student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas pursuing an M.Ed in Higher Education Administration. She received her bachelor's degree in Psychology in Spring 2023 and worked on various jobs and volunteer positions such as a Youth Counselor, Research Assistant, and Early Childhood Teacher. She was a fall 2022 marketing intern for the Love Yourself Foundation and always has a deep love for mental health, leadership, education, and wellness. During her free time, Charlene has recently found a huge love for visiting different cafes around the valley, traveling, journaling, shopping, hanging out with family and friends, and listening to Taylor Swift.
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