Southern Connecticut State University Top Questions

Although it make feel like the end of the world sometimes, it's not. Really, it isn't. The end of the sky, the wind sighing through the trees, the sky full of stars at night, the clean mountain air! None of it will ever really disappear. And neither will your old friends or your family. It make feel like the concrete jungle filled with steel trees strange creatures will suck the life out of you but don't let it get to you. The sun still rises in the morning and sets at night and you may feel like you want that sunset to be the last one you'll ever see but it gets better. Nothing ever ends for good and so neither should you. So, don't let everyone's words get to you. For all you know, you're just blowing things out of proportion. Just take the time to remember that even though it's hard, it gets better.

I want to tell you that I am proud of all your hard work. I am proud of all the preparation you did to get us here. Despite all the distractions and stressors going at this time you were able to pull it together and get ready to go to college. Let me just tell you that it will all be worth it. The stressful times, the hard work, the economic strain, and the things you had to give up to keep going! All worth it! Don't give up on your dream to succeed! Take it a step a time, a day at a time and things will turn out well. Next year will be full of new experiences and opportunities that will help build your wisdom and character! I'm counting on you!

If I were to go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to take the summer before college to love myself and find out who I am through getting involved. I would do this because in my first semester at college, the transition from high school to college life was rough and by questioning myself it only became harder. When I joined the Programs Council, Inter-Residents Council and Hall Council on campus, I met many people that helped me on my path to obtaining a higher self esteem. I recieved the support that I needed through my new friends and when I felt that I could not go any farther, they seemed to motivate me to keep going. Then, I was able to develop my leadership skills that gave me the confidence I needed to become a happier person. If I had known that getting involved could help me so much, I would have done so sooner.

Stick it through, don't let anything or anyone derail your progress. Don't drop out or take a semester off because saving up the money to get back into college is harder than you think. If you're unsure as to what you want to major in, take a multitude of different classes within different disciplines. Some classes may sound tedious and boring, but they may unlock your secret passion for a particular subject/area of interest. Talk to people! Even if it's just to say "How's the weather?", engage people in conversation. Challenge yourself to look beyond your comfort zone. Don't diss an idea just because you've never thought about it or tried it or for any other reason (other than personal safety, of course!). Take a road trip once a year to a state you've never been. Try for one that totally opposite the one you're immersed in now. Try a new cuisine. Basically, don't stand in the corner waiting for life to hand you anything...work hard, play hard and look out for yourself. And call your momma more often.

Consider your options then develop a clear view of what I want to go to school for. Focus on your dream job and don't let anything get in the way. Find out EXACTLY what needs to be done in order to graduate, freshmen year. Stay focused, Freshmen year is the hardest. Remember that school comes first. By Sophmore year know whether or not you want to go to Graduate School and start preparing for that.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would not do it. The reason I know what I know about making the transition to college life is because of the mistakes I made while applying for school. However, I would love to share what I learned with any current high school students. Be realistic. I only applied to my top two schools. I was acccepted and given partial scholarship to my dream school, but by mid-August I couldn?t pay for it and had to take a semester off. Be Successful. In high school, I thought success meant a fancy college. Therefore, my semester off seemed like a failure. Now, success to me means doing everything I can to reach a goal, even if I don?t get it. So, working three jobs to go to state school in spring 2009 was a success. Be human. You are going to make mistakes, but you don?t have to regret them. I was miserable when I couldn?t go to school right away, but recognizing my humanity helped me to forgive myself and move forward. Finally, choose to be happy.

If I could go back in time and tell my high school senior self what I know now about college and the college life, I would definitely tell myself to live on campus the first year, and to not work as much as I did. I realize now in my second year how important studying and doing all of the assigned work is, and I do not feel like I understood the full importance of it in high school or my freshman year of college. I would make my high school self understand that I needed to study and work hard in every class even if I thought it would be easy, because every class makes a big impact in my GPA and in getting into the nursing program here.

If ever given the chance of returning to my high school self I would give the advice of never be afraid of trying something new and meeting new people. I feel as though after being in college for the last two years I am realizing that the people you meet and network with when you first start school are people who can help you to transition into the enviornment much more smoothly. I would tell myself to take advantage of every opportunity that is afforded to me whether it be community service, or going to the movies as they are all ways of opening doors to whatever may come as a chain event. I definitely feel as though transitioning would have been much smoother had I not went into the experience thinking that I would not live up to the standards I set for myself and I would tell myself to never show doubt in my own abilities because once I doubt myself I leave room for someone else to do the same. I would say that while success would be hard to acheive, that if it was't really what I wanted it would be easy to obtain.

If I could go back in time and tell my high school self about college, I would tell her to just relax. College isn't as tough as you think and as long as you are busy but make time to hang out with the new people you will meet, then you will be fine. Just relax, keep cool, and have fun.

If I could go back in time I wouldn't learn anything because is the mistakes I made that teach me how to live my life the right way. Knowing what I did wrong helped me to succeed in life because I learn what to do and how to do it and what not to do... But if that wasn't the case then I would like to advise my self to save money for college, work harder, focus on myself more than others and that I can do better when I think it's good.