Life as a HUMSS student

Being a HUMSS student is a wonderful experience. It's a journey filled with intellectual exploration, social awareness, personal growth, and a deep understanding of humanities and how our world works. Being a HUMSS student means embracing history, literature, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and more. It's a curriculum that will challenge you to think critically and learn how to analyze complex issues and ideas that have shaped our society.

My experience taught me many life lessons, such as that no matter how hard you avoid getting out of your comfort zone, you will find yourself doing just that, while also realizing that trying new things is not an awful experience but a life-changing one. Here, you'll learn to build and develop your confidence by engaging in so many extracurricular activities that you need to socialize, interact with other people, do public speaking, and perform in front of people. That's why personal growth is one of the perks of being a HUMSS student; we are given the opportunity to grow and be better. We don't just learn new things; we also grow individually and become a much better version of ourselves. We became much more confident and brave to face the world and the challenges life has for us. At first, yes, it will be a tough journey as you begin, but as time goes by, you will realize that "oh, I've become someone that I've been longing to be"—someone who's not afraid anymore, someone who won't cower if presented with an opportunity. Realizations that I had as a currently graduating HUMSS student: I'm more willing to be better, especially in being more extroverted, engaging in things that require me to socialize, and facing my fears. 

Being afraid is normal, but letting your fear dictate how your life work and how you function as a person is not. I'm more on the introverted side, so at first, being a HUMSS student was hard. I don't even know if I made the right decision in pursuing this strand because I'm afraid to be in the spotlight. Social anxiety took a toll on me, and I became afraid of having to voice out my concerns, answer in front of the class, and do public speaking. It was so bad at first, but I learned that it was just me being afraid to get out of my comfort zone and be better. Socializing is not my forte, but now I think I can manage to embrace it and accept that it's not something to be afraid of. Now I can see that I've improved a lot, and my friends and loved ones I hold dear in my heart helped me and motivated me to be the braver version of myself. I also thank our beloved teachers who tire themselves in order for us to learn and grow, not just as their students but also as people. So I guess, John Maxwell was right about experience not being the best teacher, but evaluated experience is.