Portland Community College Top Questions

When I was a senior I felt like I needed to stay in the area because I don't do very well with change but by staying home I was affected by the change of everyone leaving even more. For second semester I moved to Duluth and I love the change of pace. If i were to talk to a high school senior I would tell them to go out and live your dreams. Don't stay home and go to the nearest community college because life won't change and you won't be able to grow and mature like your friends that are out at school. Go some where and live your dreams it makes coming home from college and seeing your friends and family again more awarding.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to not give up when things get rough. I have struggled with school a lot in my life, and now I am finally digging in and going all the way. I see so many people start school, only to give up a few months later. It makes me sad to see such potential go to waste. I know that I was one of these people when I first tried going to college right out of high school. Now that I am older, I have learned a lot about life, careers, and how the world works. Looking back, I know that when I was younger I thought that I knew everything already. I think that it is good to get some real word experience before going to school. The problem is that it is hard to get back into school once you have left. Here I am, doing what I should have been doing fresh out of high school, and I'm doing it right.

I would tell myself to keep the same course that I have kept thus far; staying true to myself is one of the most important things that I believe in and nothing can change or sway my view from this. Caving into peer pressure, falling into the cracks of temptation, or walking down the lackadaisical path that is so easily walked is none of the business I wish to deal with. Perhaps a common response to this even more common question is to "study harder" or "party less", for this writer, however, a predictiable response does not suffice because I am not a predictable individual. I fight for what I believe in, and I stand my ground when I feel my beliefs are being treaded on. I feel I have balanced my life appropriately, and, consequently, have achieved what I wanted to do in college, from the viewpoint I had when I was a senior in high school. In sum, I would give one of the oldest adages of advice out there: just be yourself; and ,I am proud to say, I feel I have done that well.

If I was given the opportunity to go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would've demanded myself to have taken high school more seriously. For instance, my goal in high school was to graduate; even if it means earning the minimum grade of a D. I pass high school with C's and D's assuming that I?ll pursue the rest of my life working. I refused to take SAT exams, seek colleges, search for scholarship opportunities and be open-minded with life. After high school, I moved off of the Hawaiian island to the state Oregon where I worked in retail which was quite difficult to get. I enrolled in college, studying medical assisting and earned my first degree. After earning my first degree, I was offered a job as a medical assistant in a heart beat. That?s when I realized that education was the golden ticket to better opportunities. Having a degree made me feel like I had the power. Education and power made me more eager and motivated to continue education to earn another degree. I wish that I would?ve known this all in high school

I would advise myself to start college immeadiatly. Don't wait untill you think you can afford more schooling. There are many scholarships and grants and finicial aid out there for students just like me to enable us to go to college. Don't believe that your not good enough. And choose to do something you love.

"You shouldn't try to be someone your'e not, because in college everyone is different. It's not about being perfect in college, it's about learning and meeting new people. Don't stress yourself out by trying to be the best."

Take your time to figure out what you want to do. If you need to take a break from school, it's okay. Go when you're ready and know what you really want to do. In the mean time, make the most of every opportunity. Learn all that you can. Do your very best at whatever you do! Live life to the fullest wherever you find yourself. When you are choosing a school, consider the atmosphere. You want to go to school in a place where you feel comfortable and enjoy being. Speak with an academic advisor and choose your classes wisely to make sure they will go towards your ultimate goal. Be bold! Speak up in class. Participate and get involved. This is the best way to make friends and learn from others. Don?t take life too seriously. Try your best, but don?t get too down on yourself. Life has a way of working itself out. Try to enjoy the classes you take and really try to learn something that you'll take with you for a long time from each one. Remember that the whole world can be your classroom if you let it be!

If I was able to go back in time and talk to myself when I was a senior in high school I would have a few words of advice for myself. The first would have to be to take some college classes your senior year so that next year you will be ahead of the game. Another would have to be to stay focused on what is at hand so you can go forward with a clear head and finish strong. The last thing would be work as much as you can because college classes are very expensive and having a buffer is a really good thing to have.

If I was allowed to travel back in time and speak to myself as a high school senior there is only one thing I would tell myself: just do the work, no matter how trivial it seems. It took a year off of school working a dead end retail job and a subsequent return to education to realize how much I really wanted to be in school. Unfortunately my descions in high school to slack off and procrastinate cost me an opportunity to focus purely on my studies, instead forcing me to pay my own way through school. I'm not here to whine and complain, spilling my regrets on you in hopes of garnering 5,000 dollars though. I'm here to tell you how much I value education. After being placed in the sink-or-swim situation of paying for my education I have once again developed a passion for understanding and rediscovered the value of hard work. I have become determined to make the most of my time at Portland Community College, not only striving to be a good student but an active and effective member of the campus community.

Ding ding ding the alarm rings. SLAM goes my hand on the snooze button as I think "just 10 more mintues... I'm a senior so Its okay to be late, and im acing that class." Later, I walk into class a half hour late. Something seems odd, everyone is taking a test but we usually just take notes on monday. The teacher informs me that she had planned a pop quiz worth 30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of our grade and you had to be on-time to take it. She was sick and tired of students coming in late and disrupting the classwork, so she put her foot down to teach us a lesson. If I could go back in time and change one thing, it would be to respect teachers more. I wish I had realized that they want to help us learn, if they didn't they wouldn't have chosen to become a teacher when there are so many other careers that make more money with less training. I ended up getting a C in that class simply for not respecting the teacher. That pop quiz sure made me mad, but it taught me a valuable lesson.