A Journey Of Self Discovery

As the semester draws to a close, many Santa Monica College students are graduating, preparing to enter the workforce or continue on to four-year universities and colleges.
I am among them, and as I spend my time preparing for final exams I take a moment to think about all that SMC has meant to me.
There are great resources here if you know where to look - in your fellow classmates and in the professors and faculty. I have learned that the more time you spend at SMC, the better you get to know the institution and its valuable human capital.
I have tried new things - including becoming an artist in my beginning drawing and creative writing classes. I have found a passion for new subjects - I didn't think economics could be that exciting until I started to learn how important it was from my professors. My professors have had a dedication and passion for their subjects that I didn't always see in my high school teachers. They pointed me in new directions - to try composing poetry, writing for the Corsair and studying philosophy. They've encouraged me to work in new ways and see myself in new ways because of it.
I have gotten to know my fellow students and their personalities, and have made friends in the hiking club, on our Corsair newspaper staff and in my classes. All of them have diverse backgrounds and cultures - Indian, Indonesian, Pakistani, Swedish and Norwegian. I could go on and on. I got to know people as individuals and they have shown me that it's possible to live with caring and open minds and hearts. Because of SMC I have become more fully myself. Thank you SMC.