Bluegrass Community and Technical College Top Questions

If I could go back in time I would tell myself not to be afraid that I can do it and I am not worthless. Neither of my parents went to college and I sometimes worried that I couldn?t either but my self esteem kept me from wanting to pursue my dreams. It took many hardships after I graduated high school for me to find the answers I needed. I would tell my young self that life is something not to be afraid of and I need to believe in myself. That you will go on to get your masters degree and become the psychologist you know you can be. That I?ll be able to help others in a way I never thought I could help myself. But mostly, not to be afraid of College, it is there to help you in life and so far it has helped me discover myself in a way I never thought I could. I learned to believe in myself and I would tell my high school self that I should start believing now.

Wow.... there's so much I would tell myself, it's going to be difficult to keep this to two hundred words! In this situation, I think first and foremost, I would stress the importance of education. Like many seniors anticipating "the real world", I made the foolish decision to not immediately go to college. As life would have it, I found myself pregnant one year later, and subsequently decided against going to college because I didn't think I could juggle school and parenting. I would never wish my son away, but my life would be dramatically different had I entered college directly out of high school. I'm now back in college (obviously) and seeking to gain entrance into the dental hygiene program. If I had already earned a bachelor's degree, however, I'd be seeking entrance into dental school. I have far too many responsibilities now to consider the eight years of schooling it would require to graduate from dental school.....and by not going to college and seeking a degree when I was young and free enough to do so, I unknowingly cheated myself out of a very bright future.

If you plan on attending a big public university, consider starting small. Community colleges are a good transition from high school to a big university. You can take all the lower level general ed classes there without taking them with 200-300 other people. It's easier to get personal attention with your professors and get to know your classmates. Then, when you're ready to transfer, you'll just have your uppergraduate major-specific courses to take. Two years at a community college will also save you a lot of money!! No matter which school you choose, get involved! Work hard and study, but have some fun and make some friends outside of class, too, by joining clubs or sports, going to games, and attending events hosted by the student activities board!

If I could go back, I would go back to my freshman year of high school. I would have tried harder with academics and would have taken every opportunity with AP classes. My junior year I took AP classes and they were the one thing that actually got me prepared for the world outside of high school. They gave me a reality check of how classes were going to be in college, at least similar too. I give the advice for every person entering high school is to take academics seriously, because they do matter. Senior year is supposed to be the easiest year, but yet you have to get all of your college stuff together so I advise every person to challenge themselves to the best of their ability. Take advantage of the AP courses your high school has to offer and the clubs and organizations because they all matter on a college application. Having these things will qualify you for scholarships and will mentally prepare you for what the future has in store.

If I were able to go back, I would have actually became a high school senior. I left high school after my junior year and started working full time. Growing up I had always said I was going to graduate and go straight to college, but sometimes life takes us in different directions. I cannot say that I regret my life choices, but in some ways I do wish that i would have continued my education sooner. I achieved my GED in 2007, shortly after is when I enrolled at Bluegrass and I haven't stopped since. Therefore the only advice I could give myself would be that no matter what life brings and wherever it takes you, remember to always follow my heart and that it is never to late to fulfill those dreams.

In high school, I was an over achieving work-a-holic. I had three part time jobs and graduated with a 3.33 gpa. I had one goal in my sights and that was veterinary school. I have never wanted to do anything else. I pushed myself and moved off to college. When I reached college, something changed. I quit. It wasn't that I didn't care or my career objective changed, but something stopped pushing me. I stopped going to class and rarely did homework. After barely scraping by with a 2.0 my freshman year, I was even less motivated than before. After 4 years of floundering in school, I left before I was asked to leave. I had never failed at ANYTHING before. I even think that failure was my biggest fear. If I could go back now and talk to my high school self, I would tell that girl to accept the failure that lies ahead. I wouldn't change one thing about my past. That huge failure gave me the life lesson I needed to go back to school and to succed now. Those mistakes turned that girl into the woman I am today.

Dear Lindsey, While I?m sure you are enjoying your senior year, and hopefully making the most of it, I want to offer a friendly reminder that is simply this: as much as you may want to believe it true, you unfortunately are not on the top of the world. Trust me when I say, the petty satisfactions of high school will mean nothing in the ?real world.? While prom may seem like a huge deal to you now, do not forget that you have AP exams soon, and they matter more than you think they do. I know your teachers say it, repeat it, and pound into your brain the fact that your today affects your tomorrow, but I urge you to listen. How you apply yourself does, in fact, affect your future. They may seem like silly points here and there, but the higher you score on your ACT can drastically change your financial standing in college. That higher grade on your AP tests will opt you out of taking the same classes later. I urge you to understand that while high school does only happen once, college comes quickly thereafter, with a cost; a very expensive cost.

If I could go back in time and visit myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself not to get too caught up in the "college scene" there is a lot of new experiences to be had and I should do so cautiously. The next thing I would tell myself is to not work so hard at my job and to realize that there are times for work and times for fun, it would be easier to live at home and try to go to school and be able to get more involved in school activities on campusrather than work forty hours a week and just squeak by in school, it would be a lot easier to work hard in school and get A's the first time around and not have to spend the money to retake classes.

I never saw myself going to a community college. I had this set plan that I was going to be rich. I had no clue how, but I was going to have the highest salary available and live a worry-free life somewhere in a huge house. Then I went to high school and found out that I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I was even close to dropping out, altogether! I had finally found a niche with nutrition and I never looked back. But with my options severely crippled by a lower GPA than expected, I had to settle for a community college for a few years. If I were to speak to myself during high school, I would strongly encourage this very idea: seeking aid from any and every source available. Beg people for money. Fill out every scholarship application in sight. Because free money is a beautiful, though rare, treasure. You must grasp it while you can. I can't think of a single gift better than a scholarship. Nothing is more discouraging than the bill for tuition (except having to pay even more for a student loan.)

If I could travel back in time and talk to myself as a senior in high school, I would tell myself to to whatever I had to do to go to college. I'm 34 years old now, struggling to pay for one class at a time. I'm dying to take more, but I just can't afford to. At the rate I'm going, it will be years before I'm able to get my Bachelor's. Even worse, the quality of education I'm receiving leaves much to be desired. You honestly get what you pay for with community colleges, but my choices are limited. Still, I can't help but feel a small measure of pride with each "A" that I receive and each class that I complete. My courses have been far from difficult, but I feel good knowing that I have managed to balance work, school, and a marriage all the while maintaining a 4.0 GPA.