As a kid, many people get asked different variations of the same question: “What has been your best experience?” And even at that age, there are many joyful moments to consider-birthday parties, trips to the local amusement park, and bicycle-riding lessons. But often, it is not until your adult life that you go through many of your most valuable events. Some, for instance, may find their time in the military to be of utmost importance to them, while others sometimes find that their experience as a parent was the most rewarding one they have had. Personally though, I consider my time in college as my most valuable experience.

First, my experience in college has given me a chance to sharpen my skills in my field of choice. There have been, and there will continue to be, many opportunities to learn more ways of improving my craft as a result of my time in school, which I am truly thankful for. For example, the Writing Center at my school has taught me many writing tips and rules that I was unaware even existed, and would still be unaware of had it not been a part of my experience.

Because of this, I realized I still had a lot to learn despite what I thought; but this allows me to improve my skills more as I continue to attend school and also gives me more confidence in my area. And as a result, I know one day this valuable experience will help me in my search for another one-a rewarding career.

In addition to learning practical skills, being in college has also taught me a lot about social sciences such as sociology and history. For instance, I have had the privilege of learning about religions in unfamiliar parts of the world, such as Buddhism and Islam, that I had no knowledge of beforehand. From this experience, I have learned many interesting things about the cultures in which these religions are typically followed. Learning about many different religious ideas and practices in other areas of the world, like meditation, reincarnation, and the worshipping of multiple deities, has been valuable to me because it has cleared up some misconceptions I had, thus allowing me to be less ignorant on the topic. It has also given me a better understanding of others’ beliefs and traditions, no matter what region of the world they originated. This has made my time in college much more enriching and worthwhile.

Also, there are other social science subjects that were valuable for me to learn as well. For example, I was fortunate to have taken classes in psychology during my earlier years in college. I had always wanted to know more about psychology since I have found the human mind and how it works and develops very interesting. I have learned about the process by which the brain develops during infancy and childhood, the concept of repressed memories, and how distorted those memories become over time. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about all of this and hope to learn even more about different aspects of psychology in the future. I consider this subject a very valuable and important part of the college experience because, not only does it allow one to understand how their own mind works, but also gives them more knowledge of what the human mind and brain are actually capable of.

My experience in college, particularly the English program, has also allowed me to gain more knowledge about a variety of literary authors and types of literature. Had I not decided to attend Carthage, I would never have known about classic writers like Katherine Anne Porter, Kate Chopin and the many different plays from William Shakespeare. I have also learned more about what fables, short stories and poems are and how to tell between them. Also, reading those classic pieces has given me insight into what it was like to live in the author’s time era and what the oppressed female writers had to go through. Not only is this knowledge interesting to learn, but recognizing the differences between various methods of story-writing will also help me to be more versatile as a writer, thus improving my future career.

In summary, my time in college has enriched my life in many ways. It has provided me with the necessary tools to enhance my skills more, taught me valuable knowledge about this diverse world and people and concepts in general and eventually will enable me to hopefully become more successful in life when I finally graduate and get my degree. It also has stressed to me the importance of thinking critically and asking questions in many situations. All these aspects of college have also made me more well-rounded as a person. It has been easier for me to achieve these opportunities than if I lived in some other countries, especially third-world ones. These experiences are truly irreplaceable and I would not trade them for anything. If I could go back in time and speak to my much younger self when I was first asked the question, “What has been your best experience?” the baby-faced version of me would certainly have been surprised by what my answer is now.