Emerson College Top Questions

Dear 17 year old me, College is an expansion of high school with longer papers, stricter professors and quicker deadlines. The amount of time you spent in high school on a research assignment will double. At one point, you will find yourself in your room at two thirty in the morning writhing over a paper on Hamlet, Othello and Oedipus. You might buy Ben & Jerry's once a week. But, you will meet people who will expand your creativity in ways you never thought possible. You will thrive in classes and make the deans list every semester. The stress you are feeling now over what college to attend will disappear your second week on campus. You are making the right choice. All of those people who doubted your strength to succeed will be proven wrong. Let go of the anxiety of prospering because you will soar through the next few years.

Don't be afraid to put yourself out there. Join clubs, make friends, and just be involved in extracurricular activities. Networking goes a long way in the film industry. This is a very collaborative field.

If I could go back to my high school self I would tell myself how much is it worth to play a varsity sport over a affordable option. This is something that I have wrestled with over the years looking back at my decision about where to atten college. I now feel that perhaps I might have been better off going to a more affordable insitution in order give me a much better financial situation as I entered my mid 20's.

The hardheaded and political minded high school Ryan would have told you your faults without any thought. He was a liberal who graduated from a conservative boarding school and nothing made him feel better than to prove others wrong. He did not know that the faults he so longed to extract from others illuminated his own inadequacies. On a naive quest to prove some truth to others the younger me lost more friends than he gained. What could have helped me along the way would have been the understanding that opinion could only transcend division if opinion was confronted with clear and placid understanding. Instead of using my knowledge of the contrary point to prove someone wrong in their actions or opinions it would have been more fruitful to find commonality in the opinions of my conservative schoolmates. I would tell my younger self to understand others. Find the common ground no matter what and cultivate that ground into a prosperous plant. I would tell myself to nurture that plant so that it might grow the fruits of friendship and understanding. Ultimately I have learned that that fruit provides the food through which individuals come to terms with each other.

Dear Anne Marie, I would like to share with you some advice about your future college career. First, it is always a great idea to speak with your professors after class if something was not clear to you. Know that you will not be bothering them because that is what your professors are there for. Also, I know that you worry about instantly having your books and materials as soon as courses begin, however, in college, you need to know that most professors are aware of the high costs of textbooks, particularly in the college's bookstore. It is always a smart idea to look up the course materials prior to the start of the semester and search for them on websites that may sell them at a more economical price. In each course you take, do not be afraid to reach out to fellow students and make acquaintances who can become friends and study partners. Be aware that college will take up a lot of your energy, so it is important to eat healthy meals and snacks throughout the day and drink plenty of water to keep your brain functioning!

You're a dedicated person in many ways, great job! But you have also isolated yourself from some great opportunities. Sure, joining the marching band certainly opened your eyes and personality in many ways. Yet getting involved with other organizations can help shape you more and maybe even benefit you or the community as well. Just because you don't like having too much on your plate, doesn't mean you should ignore the challenge behind whatever it is. It's something that I look at now with occurances from these past few years. Even though I get overwhelmed having a lot going on, it's usually worth the trouble and involvement in the end. It is all for the experience while learning from what roadblocks you may encounter. That is life. We all face challenges, but then we embrace them. It is not something to be afraid of because everyone faces the same complications finding a balance in life's opportunities. You may not like clutter, but take a breath first before saying no to what may be a great opportunity. Life is about taking risks, so see what an opportunity has to offer before letting it go.

You might think you can sacrifice your sleep time to finish a ridiculous amount of schoolwork and internship assignments, but think again. You need to sleep! You are not a vampire from Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series. Sleep replenishes your energy and helps you feel lively and ready for the day. Life is miserable when you constantly feel like you're sleepwalking through it. Instead of taking multiple four-hour naps throughout the day, have a good night's rest. Remember when you used to run on a nocturnal schedule? You would nap during the day and mainly work at night - you pretty much never saw your friends. You're lucky that your friends didn't forget about you and your workaholic tendencies. Be grateful for your opportunities, but don't forget to take care of yourself.

Having just completed my first year of college, there is plenty of advice that I would give my high school senior self if I could go back in time. The most important piece of advice is one that my mother recently gave to me, "Nothing falls from the sky except for rain." She said this to me because I am unsure if I will be able to complete my education at Emerson College due to insufficient funds. As a child, you get used to getting what you want, even if you whine over petty things. Now that I am older, it is hard to come out of the mentality that I have to fend for myself, and often will have to face difficult times because, in truth, life is painful. I would want my high school self to know that dreams and goals are only achieved through hard work, and sometimes difficult choices have to be made in order to better oneself. I would tell my high school senior self to stop looking up at the sky, waiting for something to fall into my high school senior hands, and instead build a ladder to reach it.

I would say to not stress out, the college process can be a pain but it all works out and whichever school you end up at the most important piece is your outlook and what you're willing to make the best of.

Dear High-School Self, It's been a while. I remember how confusing preparing for college was. We've made some mistakes; I'd love to give you some advice that will help in the following years. 1. Visit more colleges! You only visited one. Fortunately it was our dream college. Visit more colleges anyway. 2. Save money! It's great that you have two jobs. You're earning money & it's tempting to spend it. But when you're nearing the end of college and worrying about student loans, you will kick yourself for not planning ahead. 3. Choose friends wisely. Surround yourself with people who will love & help you along the way. Do the same for others. Please don't be discouraged that not everyone is like that. 4. Care more. It sounds simple, but it's important. Take more time with your art, contribute, become more involved, & ask for help when needed. None of these things make you uncool. It's actually very cool to care. Looking back, you'll think the teenage anarchy was a little silly, but you'll value your experiences. I hope you find success & happiness in the forthcoming years. Good Luck, Me