My name is Cameron Scharf, and I am a senior graduating with a Bachelor’s in Multimedia Film and Production this December. I am a photojournalist and content creator here at the George Anne, and I am writing this to offer some advice to people who may be struggling, no matter what point in college you are, by using my own story and experiences. 

I started my time here in August 2020 as a Physics and Astronomy major with the end goal of one day going to space. If you notice, this is not the degree I am graduating with, but 5 years ago, this is what I thought I would be. My first semester was mostly online, struggling to learn calculus through a Zoom call at 8 in the morning, regretting my decisions. During this time, I wasn’t happy with where I was and spent my first year failing classes and feeling like I was failing. My sense of self was heavily tied to my grades at the time, since I was a straight-A honor student back in high school. I was so lost, and I had no idea what to do or how to recover from where I was at.

I reflected a lot about what I even liked doing and where I wanted to end up. Questions like “What makes me happy?” and  “What am I good at?” went through my head. Then it clicked, and I changed my major to film because I had taken some film classes in high school, and I thought maybe it would at least help me figure myself out more. This was a turning point for me. I started taking these classes and finding joy in what I was doing again. I joined a film club where I started breaking out of my shell, finding my voice again, and it really pulled me out of the cycle I was living in at the time.

I started doing a lot better in my classes, making friends, and really began to find myself. Then the people I started college with in 2020 began to graduate in 2024. Suddenly, that feeling of falling behind started creeping up again. I didn’t know what to really do since I knew I wouldn’t be graduating with them, and that thought hurt a lot. Suddenly, everyone around me was younger than me, and I felt like I was failing because I wasn’t following the same timeline. I didn’t realize at the time that it truly doesn’t matter when you graduate as long as you keep pushing through and try to reach your goals. Everyone has their own path, and mine was making up for my first year every day. 

I kept to myself and kept pushing towards my goal to graduate and build the best future that I could for myself. I was losing friends at the time, too, which didn’t help this feeling of messing everything up, but I kept trying, and then I joined George Anne. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to join an organization because when I did, I found people who became some of my biggest cheerleaders and supporters. 

The biggest takeaway from my college experience is that it is not about how quickly everyone else around you is going through life. As you go through your life, you’ll notice more people will start to do one or more of these things: they will get married, start a family, get a full-time job, and move on with their life. You may begin to feel like you aren’t where you should be. It is so important to realize you are not falling behind. Life simply has other plans for you and is trying to show you what your path is. Things will get better, and your hard work will pay off. It just takes time, so enjoy the ride because you will never get this time back. 

As for what is next for me, I am happy to share that I have accepted a position with a film studio in Brooklyn, NY, where I will start as a production intern in January. If you are reading this and you are staying here, I wish you good luck on your journey. Keep going, you got this. If you are reading this and are graduating with me, congratulations, we made it.