Grove City College Top Questions

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself an anonymous quote that I read in the past that helped me to get through the first few months of college. "If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we've never really lived". During my senior year, I was anxiously looking forward to making the dream of me, attending college, become reality, however I never expected what a drastic and overwhelming change that really is. I would remind myself not to take for granted the luxuries I have at home: the smell of home-made food, the sounds of my parents talking in the other room, or the knowledge of my brother and sister being but a floor above me. I would prepare myself to feel nervous, but encourage myself to replace any fear with excitement because these changes are what make life uncomfortable at first, yes, but beautiful with time. Every change is different, but one more way to rely on God. I would remind myself that I am right where He wants me, and that change and growth are magnificent.

As a high school senior, I was deathly afraid that I wouldn't get accepted to college, and even more afraid that I wouldn't fit in at school if I was accepted. Fortunately, I was accepted to Grove City College, and upon arriving, I found that people at college are pretty much exactly the same as the ones in high school, just a little more overworked. However, the people at college all have something in common that brings everyone together into a close knit community: they are all here by choice to learn and further their education. There aren't any sullen people who try their best to show their displeasure at being there. People are happy to be here, and academic fellowship allows you to make friends of and form relationships with people you would never have noticed before. If I could go back in time and talk to my high school senior self, I would tell my past self that college isn't all fun and games; it is hard work, but the people who attend it make it all worth the trouble.

Knowing what I now do about college I would have had several things to tell myself as a high school senior. The most important thing I would have told myself would have been to stop being so frivolous and to buckle down and give everything that I did, wether it be school, work or sports, my best effort possible. Not that i was not successful or did not achieve high grades during my senior year, but i did take many shortcuts and was lazy just as many other seniors are. I wish I had done this, not as much for the better results that would have been achieved, but rather because it would have prepared me better mentally for college and its many challenges. I would also have told myself to stop being heavily entertainment oriented. Once you stop using good study habits and begin to focus primarily on hanging out with friends and going out at night it is much harder to begin college and regain the discipline which you once had. Overall I would have tried to let my former self know that discipline in every apect of your life is what is needed to succeed in college.

Although the transition to college was indeed very drastic and abrupt, I believe that various experiences in my life (such as my parent?s divorce and our subsequent cross-country move) taught me the ability to adapt and helped prepare me for the changes. While most of the adjustments, such as walking across campus for every meal or living on a hall with 36 other guys, were minor and posed no problem, I did find it quite challenging to develop a structured schedule. In hindsight, I feel that developing a routine before actually leaving for college would have helped me through the transition. Given the ability to advise my high-school-senior-self about the future I would have also stressed the importance of time management skills and self-responsibility, things I have found to be absolutely necessary to a successful college student. Finally, I would have encouraged myself to really learn the material in my high school courses, since I would see most of it again in my college freshman classes. Learning it as a senior would save me precious time in college and would allow my future self to focus on topics that were completely foreign.

What do you think you?re doing? How could I have been so stupid? You are about to make mistakes you are really going to regret. I know that you think it?s all pointless but you are wrong. I stay up at night wishing that I had some chance to go to a University and follow my dream as a Computer Animator, but we didn't even have that goal yet. I want you to learn from your mistakes and listen to people and what they are telling you. I know in that thick skull you think you?re just, but you?re not. Not even focused on college yet. If only you could have lit that spark years earlier. Now all I want to do is to go to school. Become my dream as a Computer Animator. You didn't get scholarships during senior year so you lost a whole year because of it. Do better, exceed everyone?s expectations. Soar high until you touch the stars, because that is where you want to be. You want to be on top of the world, not to own it but to help it and dazzle everyone in it.

I would tell myself to work hard at academics, but not to stress too much about it. I would tell myself to pick a few organizations on campus that I could get passionate about and stay dedicated to them. I would tell myself to try and make a lot of friends from different groups around campus, but once there is a solid foundation, stay and cultivate those friendships instead of just trying to make more and more friends. I would tell myself to be as open and friendly as possible to the people around me. I would tell myself to become a math major instead of a business major, that way I wouldn't have wasted my freshman year on business classes.

According to the Bible, ?Life is fleeting, like a vapor?. A vapor appears for a few seconds, but soon disperses into transparent air. The time available to us has the same nature. Just when we think we have unlimited hours at our disposal, we take a step back and realize how much of our lives has slipped through our fingers. Clocks are not going to stop, so instead we have to make it our priority to not let valuable ticks of the timepiece escape us. In high school, I did not recognize that I had only been given a certain amount of time to accomplish my goals and did not take advantage of the opportunities right in front of me. Now that I appreciate the fact that we have been blessed with a precise period of life I have begun to step outside my normal ?comfort zone? and make the most of the time I have been given. I have found that I have the strength to do things I never considered, such as inner-city tutoring. We are only given a split-second in the large scope of time. Do not ever waste a single moment.

If I could go back in time and speak to my former self, I would say, start applying to college early. Applying to College and Universities late gives you less time to make a decision on a life long career. It will be confusing and a waste of money in the future. All of us want to prepare for our dream job, but in reality very few are in the career we attended school for. I spent two years getting a degree in Computer Technology thinking it was going to be a perfect career once I graduated, but was severely disappointed when the economy went down and I found out Multi-million dollar companies in small towns need only one IT employee to run it. Here I stand, with an Associates Degree in Computer Technology, working a minimum wage job and unable to live in a larger city where odds of getting a job in my field is more probable, but not guaranteed. Therefore, do not wait around for things to fall in your lap. Make decisions on what you want for your future, so you won't waste your time and money in becoming a professional college student.

If I had the unconventional opportunity to go back in time to my senior year in high school, I would give myself many different forms of advice. Mainly, I would strongly advise my prior self to save as much money as possible. When in college, money seems to evaporate between all of the diffferent costs. If I would have saved more money while in high-school, it very well could have made the transition a little smoother. Another point of advice would be to work on being proactive and ditching the habit of procrastination. Many students tend to fall prey to the convenient habit of pushing off their work and the best advice would be to tackle the work head on so that you have time to check and polish your ideas. Finally, I would recommend that I would expose myself to different groups of individuals and steer away from what makes me feel safe. Besides the conventional type of learning, there is an unwritten education at college. It is about meeting new people who think differently and challenge your beliefs and viewpoints. It forces you out of your comfort zone and helps with the change to adulthood.

Deciding to go to a four year college is a big step and can be an exciting adventure. If I could go back and give myself some advice, I would definitely remind myself not to let fear stop me from trying new things. College presents students with so many great opportunities that we may never have again. I would tell myself to look around and realize that once this time is over, I will most likely have other responsibilities that will not allow me to do everything I can do now. Take advantage of every opportunity! Years from now, when I look back on my four years of college, I don't want to be disappointed that I was too scared to try something new. Take on the adventure and don't be afraid of failure. Sometimes, failing can be the best way to learn.