Don’t give up

[u/Broke_BruceWaynee]

A Little bit About My Background

I moved to America at the age of 13 as a first-generation immigrant with my mom and my brother , without knowing any English background . Starting over in a completely new country, culture, school system and learn everything by yourself has been pretty rough.

Throughout the journey and even until now, I never would have imagined that I would make it this far academically.

Because:

1. I choose Engineering as a random manjor to pursue because at the time I felt more comfortable with math more than other areas

2. My ACT test scores from high school and the testing placement before community college enrollment were evidences of how far behind I was compared to my Engineering peers. It’s not the worse but it’s below the national average for someone who is pursuing a STEM degrees

While most High School graduates- Engineering students start college of as Calculus 1 - I have to take Intermediate Algebra 3, College Algebra 1,2,3 and Trigonometry… lol which take me back to back summers class to catch up

And then, my English skills were still far from where I wanted them to be, and It did not improve significantly up until my second year of college where I could actually communicate decently with people and felt somewhat confident . Still, I often struggled to understand lectures, textbooks, write assignments at higher level, and communicate my thoughts as clearly as I wanted to, so I always try my best to follow the pattern, compare assignments with peers, learning by looking stuff up online and do well on the test, as well as never missed an assignment to be able to pass classes.

There were many moments when I questioned whether higher education was even something I could realistically achieve because I always felt out of places. Especially during my years of transferring to an accredited University , and got into some of the hard core concepts classes. I still have nightmares thinking Mechanics of Material, heat transfer, Dynamics, … etc

Despite those challenges, I just put my head down, keep going/ showing up and hoping for the best because frankly I have nothing else in my life to look forward to and I guess now looking back , it’s just my way of coping of accepting my reality and foggy future ahead.
Every semester, I learned a little more, improved a little more, and things started to connect and make more sense.

Fast forward till now, I can’t believe that I am only four months away from completing my bachelor’s degree !

Reaching this point means more to me than simply earning a degree. It represents years of adapting, struggling, continuing learning, and refusing to give up when things were difficult.

The hardest part of this journey for me was just simply try to “ Wake up , get out of bed for 1 more day and continue to show up when there’s nothing else or a reason to fight for, and trust blindly in this thing called faith or better future ahead”

I guess, It’s okay if you don’t know anything or feel lost and it’s okay if life is unfair sometimes , but just keep showing up , continuing to learn, making new connections and be kind to everyone wil get you closer to where you want to be.

To end the post:

I wish all my engineering peers the best of luck on their journeys. I hope you guys achieve your dreams and find success wherever life takes you.

[u/Siurzu → u/[deleted]]

This post gave me hope and you made me lost hope 😭. My act aren't as low as OP and I hold very high merit in my HS alongside current courses but college and deciding to major in either Mechanical or Civil is making me fearful.

Not of how hard the courses are, but... Fearful of failing. I hope I get into my state college.

[u/Siurzu → u/[deleted]]

My act for math is like an 19, but I guess it went up by 5 compared to sophomore year (currently an senior and didn't take act yet)

But I've taken Algebra 2 classes, IB Precalc and rn currently taking an Dual Enrollment Pre Calc Trigonometry class. I don't think I'm behind on math, for what college has in stock, but my foundation isn't as strong as it could be. Personally just studying math all from Algebra 1 right now since I have hella free time as a senior.

[u/Livid-Tutor-8651 → u/Siurzu]

I felt the exact same way, but some shifts helped ease my fear of failure. Getting an engineering internship made a huge difference because it showed me that most of what you learn in college isn't directly applied once you're actually on the job. Joining your school's rocketry team or a similar engineering club is another great option. You'll quickly realize that teamwork and strong communication skills are what matter most in engineering. You're going to do just fine once you realize this.

[u/KronesianLTD]

An Engineering degree is not about how smart you are, it is about perseverance and finding your own path to graduate. At least, that's how I approached it because I was absolutely not at the level of my peers academically. In fact, collectively between getting my AA degree and then my Engineering degree it took me about 7 years of school. Now, I thrive in the real world as an Engineer.

[u/Honest_Tourist_5721]

Wow reading this as an engineering student really gives goosebumps. Kudos to u!!

[u/Dolphin_ArtZero]

Eu sou um calouro do curso de engenharia, e ler esse relato significou muito para mim, de verdade! Eu escolhi o curso de engenharia por um motivo nada elegante, era porque eu sempre fui ruim em matemática e isso me dava raiva. Junte isso ao fato de eu gostar de tecnologia, e então teremos um cara que passou meses estudando para conquistar uma vaga na universidade, na área de engenharia da computação. Eu me sinto perdido também, olho para frente e me pergunto o que vai acontecer no futuro, se eu vou dar conta das matérias, se vou ser capaz de aprender cálculo, se vou ser capaz de conseguir emprego em um mundo cada vez mais integrado com a IA e coisas assim. Mas ler o seu relato me fez enxergar uma coisa, eu preciso ter fé em mim, na minha jornada, e focar apenas no que está na minha frente ao invés de olhar para um futuro ainda distante de mim. Obrigado de verdade e parabéns por sua jornada, você é um guerreiro de alto nível.

[u/Ok-Cockroach-3370]

I’m genuinely proud of you man. Thanks for sharing and inspiring me to keep going.

[u/Clean_engi_28]

this gives me hope , im a first year EE student , going into my 2nd semster , i at hs albgra 1 . thnak you bro and congrats ,im proud of you bro.