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College Life: Choices made after college are more important than major

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Their view: The flag and anthem represent civil rights

<p>My freshman self would not recognize the senior me.</p><p>I thought of this as I walked past my freshman dorm recently, on my way to my part-time job at the Times Leader. You know when your life seems to zoom out, and it&#8217;s like you&#8217;re looking at yourself from someone else&#8217;s eyes? </p><p>I became disoriented.</p><p>If you told freshman Toni that she would be a communication studies major, that she would want to be a journalist and that she would end up being the head of two campus organizations, I think she might have laughed in your face.</p><p>Freshman Toni wanted to be a biologist so that her human interaction was limited. She did not want to be a part of anything on campus. She was way too nervous.</p><p>I doubt anyone would even recognize the Toni in my ID photo, with her moppy hair and bright yellow T-shirt from freshman orientation.</p><p>Every time I see the photo, I remember how scared I was. How I woke up the day it was taken with a stress headache, and how I cried the night before.</p><p>It&#8217;s incredible how much that college can change a person.</p><p>When you go, it&#8217;s like you get a blank slate to reinvent your identity &#8212; and I think a lot of people take advantage of that.</p><p>I&#8217;m a shy extrovert. You can imagine the kind of frustration that causes. After about a year of college, I was ready to break out of my shell.</p><p>There are few opportunities to do this outside of college. Here it&#8217;s possible to get a taste of what different careers might be like. I did that by joining The Beacon, Wilkes University&#8217;s student-run newspaper, as a freshman.</p><p>At that point, I thought I wanted to be a chemist &#8212; or maybe a psychologist. Or an English professor. Maybe an engineer.</p><p>I just wanted to try journalism, because I liked writing and wanted to get better at talking to people. I also noticed that I happened to get along with communication studies majors more than their science-focused counterparts.</p><p>Coincidence? Probably not.</p><p>Who knew that it would change my career path? Who knew I would end up as the editor-in-chief at The Beacon by my senior year? I sure didn&#8217;t.</p><p>College is a time to explore your options and explore yourself: your capabilities, your interests, your strengths and the ways you can improve upon your weaknesses.</p><p>If you think you would enjoy something, there&#8217;s no better way to find out than to try, and there&#8217;s no easier time than college.</p><p>Who knows? Maybe you&#8217;ll end up changing your whole plan.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_toni-4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Pennello</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_toni-4.jpg</photo0><caption0>Pennello</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_newest-tony-ID-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Toni Pennello is shown as a college freshman, a picture that reminds her of how 'scared' she was during her first year at Wilkes University. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_newest-tony-ID-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Toni Pennello is shown as a college freshman, a picture that reminds her of how 'scared' she was during her first year at Wilkes University. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Toni Pennello</p><p>tpennello@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Toni Pennello is a Wilkes University senior who works in the Times Leader newsroom.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

College Life: Now is the time to change for the better