Lehigh University Top Questions

Looking back on it, I would tell my past self to take himself less seriously. Don't try to impress colleges, embrace the ones that accept you for being you. I would tell him not to stress out about not getting into the top schools that he's always dreamed of going to because in reality how would he know where he wants to go? While everybody else was trying to make their essays sound extremely deep, he shoud be focusing on writing about his passions instead of writing about what he thought they wanted to hear. I would tell him to really enjoy all the moments he has with his friends. High school will be the last place where you can talk and make jokes in class and it will be the last place where you will recognize everybody around you. Don't take those friends for granted because next year, you won't see them on a regular basis. Just remember that they are the people that got you where you are now. Just enjoy yourself because college is just one step closer to adulthood. Get your work done, then focus on being a kid.

You'll love college, just remember to try slightly harder on those APs, because you didn't do nearly as bad on that physics one thatn you thought, and please remember to be even more outgoing than you are now.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself during my senior year about college life I would tell myself, "Keep Drawing so you can become a better artist; apply for many scholarships no matter how discouraging it is that you might not be selected, join school programs and get involved in what is happening around the campus, and please whatever happens don’t stop drawing even if the people around you think your college major won’t get you anywhere”. I would also tell myself " Continue pursuring your passion in art animation and you might just leave an impression on this world, become the next Walt Disney and allow art to leave an impression on us all"

I would urge myself to not stress out as much. In high school I always put my academics above other things and thus missed out on what would have been very rewarding social experiences. It is important to know that your grades do not define you as a person nor do they denote how skilled of a worker you will be. Getting practical real-life experiences such as internships or working at your local off-campus restaurant will prove to be far more beneficial because it teaches you how to interact with people and behave in a work environment. The sooner you are exposed to scenarios that mock real life, then the better. I would urge high school students or anyone who worries about engaging in extracurriculars for fear of it negatively impacting your grades to not make getting an A in every class their top priority. That's not to say that you should not try to do well... Always try to do your best! As long as you put in your utmost effort, you will find the experience of trying to balance academia with other priorities very rewarding.

If i could write a letter to myself my first day of high school i would give myself five pieces of advice. My first piece of advice would be to study. Study hard, study often, and never think you do not need to because you always do. Second you should not be afraid to ask for help. Sometimes it may be embarassing and you feel like everyone is looking down on you, but the teachers don't mind and they can help you do better then you ever thought you would. My third piece of advice would be get involved. Join Student Government, join a sport, join as many clubs as you possibly can. You will meet more people, and it will make your high school experience that much more fun. Fourth i would say stick with ROTC. The people will be your friends even after you leave and it will help establish a lot of good values for life on down the road. The fifth and final piece of advice i would give to myself is have fun. It goes by much faster then you think and one day you'll be sitting there wondering where time went.

If I could go back to my senior year and have a talk with myself with the knowledge I have obtained from college and from simply living life and enduring its' experiences there is one thing I'd tell myself, “go to college and obtain an education in order to have a career; don't go to college to earn a degree simply to get a job.” There is a difference between a job and a career. A job is where you go to make ends meet, a place you receive a salary, and a place you go in order to survive. A career is somewhere you go because you want to, and as Confucius said, “Find a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” I would say to myself, “Get an education and use the education that you receive to live your dream because if you go to college without a dream and you are there just to earn a degree to get a job then in the end you will be working at someone else's business building their dream that could have been your own to begin with."

I do not have any advice to give myself at that point, if I could go back and talk to myself as a freshman in highschool I would tell myself to do better at school. I graduated and went straight into the army, I didn't have a plan, I didn't start higher education until I was 23. What I learned throughout my early adulthood prepared me for college, it is honestly one of the easiest things I've done; I enjoy it and it sure beats anything I was doing. The fact is I did not do well in high school, talking to my senior self would accomplish absolutly nothing. So if that was all I could do I probably would just tell myself not to get an apartment with that guy Steve; now if I could talk to myself as a freshman I would kick some sense into me. I would tell myself to buckle down and do better in school.

The advice that I would give my High School self would be; Go to College RIGHT after high school. It's definitely more of a challenge when you have full-time work, bills, house payments, family to support and the motivation to get back into the educational mindset. This allows you to start in the career path a lot sooner than if you wait, you have more time to ramp up, make more money, increase your retirement, all the things that will lack if you put your educaiton on hold. Transition straight into college from High School; Don't wait!!

In college, all anybody expects from you is the bare minimum requirements. Students and faculty alike talk about things like going to class and studying for tests as if they are great achievements, not the obvious facts of life that they have been for you. Do not get lulled into a false sense of security. You are well prepared for this, and very smart, but just because others seem to expect you to be lazy does not mean that you can get away with being lazy.

Don't just stick with the things familiar to you, like science or marching band. Explore new subjects and clubs. Don't worry about thinking you'll be bad at something, because you know won't unless you try. College is a about learning, and what's the point of learning if you don't learn something new? Try things you never would have considered in high school, like swing dancing or who knows what else. And most importantly, don't forget to wake up each morning!