I had a horrible year in school this past one and as a result I’m most likely going to have to take an extra year to graduate. I’m very discouraged by this because I’m already four years out of school with no degree because I took two years off to work and this was only my second year (started in 2012, was gone from 2013-2015, started back fall 2015 but failed two classes because of a job that worked me crazy hours). I would have graduated in 2018, which was perfect but now I’m going to have to put it off until 2019. I’m going to be the only one left when all of my friends graduate and I feel so humiliated and alone already.
College and life for that matter is not a race. Your situation is what it is, and it is the consequences of choices that you have made, which at the time might have been the best choices for you. You can’t look back, only forward, and not everyone gets a degree within that four year just out of high school time frame. In the grand scheme of your life one more year really will not matter, and no one will care. My father went to college one or two classes at a time when he could manage it my entire childhood and graduated with his bachelor’s degree the year before I graduated from high school. His family and friends were no less proud that he graduated at 38 years old instead of 22. There are many people in our country who never go to college even though they want to and many who quit or squander the opportunity when they get to go to college. The goal is to finish the degree, it doesn’t really matter if it takes some extra time.
I agree with the above. No one will care that you take an extra year. Employers will mainly care that you got your degree. And your friends, although they will miss you, won’t judge you for it either. It is an extra year or a semester to get involved, be with people on campus, and to really finish what you started. There’s no shame in that. Some of the most successful people I know have done extra years or semesters and that is perfectly okay! Things happen, sometimes outside of our control, but all that we can do is make the best of it
You are working towards your goal. There is no shame in that. You have received some good advice above. You can do this. Put what was behind you and keep trudging on. You’re getting there. Keep your chin up. You can do this. All the best.