After High School: Marika’s Perspective (Part 2)

After high school, my path was not straightforward. I applied to one college because I was certain that it would be a perfect fit for me. It was not.

Towards the end of my freshman year in college, my family decided they would be moving to California over the summer. My parents were moving for my dad's job and my sister was going to start school at UCLA in the fall. California seemed like a good idea at the time, so off I went. 

Since traditional college didn't work out, I started attending an art school for graphic design. I started taking 2 classes a semester. My first class was at 8:00 am and my second class was around 3:00 pm. Can you guess where I spent the in-between time? You got it, at the tutoring center. Eventually, I realized I was never going to be at the same level or even close to the level of the students around me. I knew I wouldn't be able to get a job as a graphic designer.

When I realized I was on the wrong path, I went to the registrar's office to withdraw from school.

Telling my parents was hard. My parents believe in me--most of the time more than I believe in myself. I felt like I was letting them down, and I knew if I wanted to get my life back on track, I had to stop going down the wrong road. 

How did my parents feel about me dropping out of school? Disappointed is what I expected and it’s what I assumed they felt even though they never said that. My mom, in a calm and collected voice, said, “That's fine. What are you going to do instead? Because you can’t just lay around here.”