George Mason University Top Questions

I would advise my high school self, with absolute confidence, to never ever let your dreams be set aside for anyone. I'd say, "Elizabeth! Be true to yourself, your abilities, and your hard work so far in life. Never allow a anyone to dictate your future. Do not postpone your dreams because someone else in your life might get left behind and hasn't been able to create the success you have created for yourself!" I walked away from tremendous oportunities that I had worked very hard to acheive when I was in high school, because I was codependant and afraid. Never doubt your ability to create success for yourself, by yourself, and dont be afraid of the future. Be just the tiniest bit selfish and know that when the future arrives, you will be strong, capable, independant.

If I were to go back in time and talk to my high school self, I would tell myself not to be scared to follow my dreams, even if others told me they were unrealistic. I have always wanted to study art, but didn't push myself becuase my parents said it would be a waste of time. I applied and was accepted to my dream school, but instead settled for a state school with a mediocre art program. I ended up dropping out after one year. Ten years later, I've decided to take the plunge and go to art school. Sometimes I wish I had just followed my heart in the first place, but am glad to have had the experiences to gain confidence in my choice. I would tell myself to not sell myself short, and to believe that I truly am and was a talented and exceptional person and artist.

When you arrive at college, do not be afraid to interact with others and get involved in on-campus organizations. Everyone on campus has been in your position at some point no matter what year he or she may be, and creating friendships allows for both socializing and networking for future job opportunities. Do not continue procrastinating as you do in high school, because deadlines will approach and your stress level will be heightened because of it. The sooner you complete assignments, the less anxiety you will feel. Study, or learn how to study. Although you may not have had to study while in high school, tests and quizzes occur at a much more rapid rate in college: you learn a year's worth of material in three and a half months. In high school, teachers go over the same material multiple times; they may not do that while in college. Because of this, you must learn to manage time wisely in order to study for your classes. Furthermore, classes are more concept-based rather than memorization, learn how to stop memorizing terms and actually grasp the concepts. Finally, make sure you explore your off-campus environment while you can.

You graduated early, got a great job right out of high school, and you even have your own place. You are on top of the world now that you moved from Pennsylvania to California at the ripe age of 17! I know you think that things will just go up from here, and they will, but only for a while. You will marry. Your marriage will fall apart, your husband will refuse to work, and refuse to go back to school. You will get pregnant, twice. Your children will depend on you to provide for them, and to show them the value of hard work and never giving up. You will swallow pride and accept food stamps, WIC, and medi-cal. Unless you want to struggle for years, please, go to school now. You will regret it later, everything about it from the experience of college, friends, and your valuable education. They will take away your marriage, your cars, your kids, your things, and your home, but they can never take your education away from you.

If I was given that chance to travel backwards in time and give my senior self a pep talk, I would tell myself to outwork everyone and befriend as many people as I possibly could. The reason for that specific advice is because if I had done very well my senior year I could have gone off to a university instead of a 2 year college. Also, befriending a large amount of individuals would benefit me later in life because then I could have people write recommendation letters for me or possibly even help me get employed.

Dear Self, I'm sure the infamous quesiton, "What do you want to be/do in life?" has been asked about a milion times now. I know you must believe that your world is what's around you at this instant. However, that is just a fraction of what your life holds. Your future is going to start now and every choice you make will count. Forget the parties and boyfriends, you need to plan ahead! There is absolutely no room for mistakes and wasting time. Plan your life and take those additional classes now, otherwise, you'll be stuck in my situation of fighting to get into the classes I need. Time, for me is becoming an issue. If I had known what I do now, I would not waste so much time on making room for my social life with friends and family. They'll always be there but the school calendar will keep on rolling, with or without you. As a senior in high school, I know you already know that you want to be in the healthcare field. Stick to your initial intenitions and go for graduate school! Don't hesitate, your graduate degree is important!

If I could go back in time to when I was a senior in high school and advise myself of something, the first thing I would tell myself is to cut corners and save as much money as possible. I’m going to learn right quick that college is extremely expensive and that transferring from a community college to a four year school is a decision I wouldn’t regret due to all the money I would save. I’d also tell myself to give up on engineering and switch to psychology, the math is way too hard and simply something I’m not cut out for and plus I’ve always enjoyed helping others anyways. The last thing I’d tell myself is to take a great deal of time to pick the professors I sign up for each semester. Professors will make you or break you and the ones that break you will not only build a debt in your pocket, make you feel like a failure and dismantle your motivation to keep striving, but they often teach you the least in the subject.

Dear High School self, My biggest regret in college is picking a major that I was not particularly fond of. Though I know being a Finance major could help me find a stable job, I have spent these past years in college dreading going to classes. At one point, I finally decided to pick a minor which dealt more with what I want to do as a career, which has always been international development regarding the environment. Classes have become more bearable, but these business classes will make you miserable. My biggest advice: do not compromise your happiness. You are going to be surrounded by friends who genuinely love their majors, and you will regret never being one of those people. Major in whatever you want, as long as you get internships and experience in that field, you will be fine post-grad. If you are doing something that makes you miserable, you will end up hating everything because school will be your life for the next four years. So, my high school self, do what makes you happy and do not compromise it because happiness is one thing that is in YOUR control throughout life. Sincerely, Your college self

The advice that I would give to myself is to learn how to be responsible and stand on my own. Basically, in high school, I would have teachers reminding me about homework and quizzes but, in college they give me a syllabus and I have to be responsible enough to know when the works are due; nobody was there for me to remind me in college. Therefore, it was very difficult for me at first. If I had learn that while in high school it would not be a problem for me in college. So, I would tell myself start to practice how to be responsible and independent because that is what college life is all about. I had a bad grade on a homework just because I forgot to submit it so that should never happen to me if I had learn in high school to become independent and responsible.

If I were to go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would have a lot of advice to give myself. The first thing I would try to explain is how making better grades could help me get into the college I want. Also, I would make my classes a lot easier to understand and get through faster. I also would convience myself to try to go that extra mile when it comes to writing papers. I think that if I would have taken more time and effort into my papers I would have been a better writer. I would then tell my self to take more curricular activities such as an extra math or science class so I could come to really love and understand those two subjects when I would start college. I think that if I would have taken my own advice back then; school would be going more smoothly and I would not have as much trouble with the little thing. I also would have continued school right after I graduated instead of procrastinating the next 4 years since my thoughts would have been fresh and ready for school again.