State University of New York at New Paltz Top Questions

To myself years ago, You are about to experience an amazing place. Do not be scared or nervous at all. You are going to push yourself through academics and sports while making life-long friends. This is an entirely new place with new people; let the things that happened in high school go. That is the past and we can now make a new future. While you are here do not take things for granted. Sitting here four years later makes me miss those tough freshman introductions and late nights with multiple papers. It goes so much faster than you think it will. Go through everything with wide open eyes and an open heart. This is will the start of your adult life and it is going to be a really fun time. Take your studies seriously but also have fun with the people around you. Also, try to branch out a little more passed your comfort zone. Meet more people and talk to more of your classmates. I may have missed some amazing people during my time at New Paltz and if I could do it again I would try to befriend more people. Have fun love. Best, Emily

The advice I would give myself is to relax and stop worrying. I was never the shy type, but coming to college was my first real experience of being away from home. I would also want to tell myself that every little problem that arises is not the end of the world no matter how much it might feel like that is the case every time sonthing goes wrong. It's alright to be nervous or afraid, but it is not alright to let negative emotions like those prevent you from doing things.

Join a club that wouldn't normally interest you! You're sure to find plenty of clubs that you'll enjoy so try to attend a general interest meeting for one that's out of your comfort zone. You'll have plenty of oppurtunities to meet people that are similar to you, now's the time to meet people unlike yourself. You want to meet people that are going to challenge your opinons, not just agree with them.

I would tell myself not to give up. I've gone through six different majors, and each time it has felt like everything was falling apart and I would never graduate. But these changes have led me to where am I today, and I couldn't be happier. I would tell myself not to let the opinions of others sway my decisions, hether that be my decision on my major, a minor, or the school I chose to attend. In the almost three years since I graduated from high school, I have learned a lot about myself and what I'm capable of, and that wouldn't have happened had I not experienced the stress of transferring, switching between departments twice in one semester, juggling school, a job, and commuting 90 minutes each day. College is scary to a high school senior, so I wish someone had been there to tell me it's going to be alright. Your decision then may affect your immediate future, but it won't change the fate of the world. If you know where you want to be someday, you'll find a way to get there. That's all that really matters.

Dear Dana, I know that right now, college is the one thing that is almost always on your mind, yet is the last thing you want to think about. You know that you need the experience and that it will be a great one, yet you are afraid of the change. You wonder how you will ever become the college freshman girl who will be moving all of her stuff into her new dorm on move-in day. Trust me when I say that she is every bit as a part of you now as she will be then. You will be her from now, to graduation day, to move-in day, to the first day of classes, and every day after. Believe that you will be ready, because you already are. Like many stages of your life, college will not be your "best" years, nor your worst. I have learned that college is truely what you make of it. I know that you have the courage and the capability to make it exactly what you need it to be. After all, I should know! Love Always, The Self You Will Become

In my senior year of high school, my group of friends experienced much drama that led to a schism. It was by no means pleasant, and I often felt alone that year. If I could go back in time (and not create a paradox), I would tell myself that my true friends would stay with me, not only through the schism, but through our journeys to college as well. So what if I lost a couple of friends? I made stronger ones in return. Really, it is quality that counts, not quantity. Although I might not believe my future self, I know that I would take note that I made it out of the situation as a better person who is not alone. At the least, I would be amused by the apparition.

My first year of college was dreadful. My best friend/roommate dropped out a few weeks in, and I could not make other friends from New Paltz. My new roommate and I didn't get along, and I eventually got a single room, which isolated me even further. There were many times when I wanted to go home and give up in my pursuit of higher education. If I could go back in time and tell my high school self to approach the situation differently, I would not hesitate to take the opportunity. My advice would have been to branch out and try and make friends, attend events, go to the gym, spend more time outside, and join clubs during the beginning of my first semester. I would have warned not to rely on my high school friend as my only confidante. I do not regret getting the single room, although it was lonely, but it would have been more ideal if I instead had a roommate with whom I got along. If I received this advice, I undoubtedly would have had a happier start in college. I am ecstatic I have started to enjoy myself in my second year.

The best advice I could give my high school self is to go to college immediately upon graduation. Do not get married the following month like I did. I would also tell myself to be sure and take ACT test as soon as possible while all of the newly learned information is still fresh.

Some advice I would give to my high school self since being in college would be to relax more and learn to appreciate what you have back at home more than before. Being away at college is very different from being at home; you have to share a room and bathroom with others and are miles away from friends and family. I should not have stressed out as much in high school as I did. I worked hard in high school, which paid off with my grades and credits, but I definitely missed out on truly enjoying high school, especially the last two years. When going away to college, things are very different. One is in a place that is unfarmiliar at first and in a situation very different from any other. High school me should have spent more time with family and friends actually living life and experiencing what it has to offer. Another thing would be to appreciate having a kitchen opposed to a dining hall that is a ten minute walk away and serves food that may or may not be edible. Overall, relax and enjoy what you can before you have to worry about student loans.

"I'm telling you," I emphasized, "it is better to work hard in high school-- take the long road, the road not taken." The younger me tried to argue by reasoning, "But college is college and as long as I graduate high school, I'll find myself in the same place in the end." I sighed, realizing I could not persuade my younger self, understanding that stuborness is what held me back. I stared at my younger self for a moment, and before she could continue arguing, I cut her off, "Your life will change more than you can comprehend. A year is more time than you know. Don't waste your time, you're smarter than that." She couldn't help but roll her eyes as her stuborness swelled within, causing blindness to my wisdom. Even as a golden opportunity was given to change my past, it became apparent that only hindsight vision is 20/20.