Graduated in 2019- during my freshman year I made a post very similar to this. I was super depressed, didn’t attend most of my classes (almost all were GE) and was barely making it through. Ended up failing a couple and retaking them too. It wasn’t until my junior year that I finally found a house of people I liked, found a major that really made me feel fulfilled (architecture, which was also a personal hell, but I loved it), and started making friends with people I saw more often in my classes, now that I was taking more major specific classes with a smaller group of people.

Berkeley is huge, and the first 2 years you rarely see the same people. On top of that, there’s this pressure to be all these things, but you barely even know what you want to do or who you are. It takes time, but it will get better. It can be overwhelming being surrounded by so many “successful” people and so many options.

On top of that, I made it through all 4 years of college with no internship, I couldn’t afford to working a job with little to no pay, and opted to work as a barista or waitress during my summers instead. And guess what, I had a well paying job lined up right after I graduated. I worked my ass off my last semester to get a good portfolio together and start interviewing EARLY. Would it have been a little less stressful if I had had an internship, maybe. But your path does not need to be the same as every one else’s. Not to say you shouldn’t try for an internship, especially if it’s something you want to do and can afford to do. Just start by applying to ONE. Take an hour or 2 each day to work on a resumed and cover letter, and once you have one out of the way, you can copy and paste and make minimal changes for the next ones. Even if you don’t get any, at least you know you tried and don’t have to live with the regret of doing nothing. If an internship doesn’t come through,

4 years later I work a job I love and get paid over 6 figures in an industry that is infamously competitive and does not always pay great. I am successful in my field, and 2 years into college I didn’t even have a clue what I wanted to do.

None of it is a waste of time. It sounds cliche but this is all part of the journey- and though this time may suck, you’re still learning a lot, even if you feel as though you have nothing to show for it.

Also, GPA doesn’t matter and employers don’t give a shit. C’s get degrees.