The Evergreen State College Top Questions

Plan! College is the biggest investment you can make in yourself. Make it count! Don't waste your parent's or your money. It is your opportunity to launch. You will learn more about yourself, your limits, and your ability than you ever will anywhere else. It is scary. It is challenging. It is worth all of the work you put into it. Attending college pushes you to become who you were meant to be, whoever that is. On a social note, you will have the opportunity to meet the most amazing people! You might meet your first love or your last! You may meet your new best friend. You will meet friends for life. This is your time. Don't focus on that guy and making sure he/they are happy. Focus on making you happy. Follow your dreams and don't worry about pleasing everyone. You will disappoint people. You will also exceed all (including your own) expectations. During the whole duration of your college career, you will laugh, you will cry, and you will feel more than you have ever felt before. You will hit your highest of highs, your lowest of lows but you will succeed.

To Self, I know you're afraid. You're just finishing up high school, and the next step to take seems to be college. For others, this may be the best path, but for you, I ask you to wait. Discover what is out there, and see more of the world. School will always be there, but in order to get the most out of it, you'll need to find yourself first. You may think that things are set in stone, but you will grow more over the next 5 years than you ever have before. Be patient in your path, and know, the greatest joys are yet to come. I am proud of who you are, but the current moment is fleeting. If you leave for college now, you will find yourself unprepared. Continue to stay curious, and never lose sight of what you love. For one day, that passion will lead you into opportunities you have never dreamed of. Your fate is unfolding; Follow it.

Once you're there, once you're in your bed, once you venture out by yourself and discover new places and new things you love, the fears won't be so prevalent. Because there are things to fear most everyday. Every single thing you do could give reason to make you fret. But soon you'll be reading vastly different things, you'll meet vastly different people. You'll enter a place of change, but it's good. It's the kind of change that forces you to realize who you are and what drives you. It isn't scary when you realize how wonderful it can be. It's like walking outside to find the sun shining, a slight wind muttering the tree leaves. It's wonderdul, even when it's horrible.

Dear Self, Please don't panic. Stress is not a necissary part of your life. You will make friends, and do well in classes if you just stay focused. don't forgat to get involved early. Join clubs, find a job, and find a central place to study instead of staying in your room all the time. Cook your own food. Trust me: it will make you feel much healthier. You can do this. Love, Future You

My first two years at Evergreen were spent deconstructing my identity. I come from huge warm family reunions with tons of food and loud aunts and uncles. I come from the islands of Hawaii, Samoa, and Aotearoa. But I also come from mixed messages and confusing spaces and often allowed homophobia and anti-Indigenous mentalities to govern most of my decisions in my developing years. I grew up thinking I didn't have a voice, that there was path laid out before me I had no say on. Evergreen helped me to find that voice within myself: in deeply introspective seminars on identity, in studying how Christianized American colonization shaped many of the beliefs I once mistakenly took for my native peoples', and in learning to self-care and self-love. If I could go back in time to talk to myself as a high school senior, I would be sure to say something about scholarships and aid. I would try to mitigate the fears and intimidations that "adult life" often comes with. But I would also tell younger me to stand strong in his deeper sense of self--because I and many, many others are so proud of him.

In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s story, A Scandal in Bohemia, Sherlock Holmes tells his partner John Watson, "You see, but you do not observe." Holmes criticizes Watson’s unquestioning view of the world. In contrast, Holmes analytically observes his environment to find clues and solve crimes. To my past self I’d offer this advice: Observe your environment every day, think about your relationship to it, then consider why what you’re observing has come to pass. Truthfully, you allow much of what you “see” to melt into the background of your consciousness. But you need not be a detective to pay attention or make a difference. The world needs your conscious consideration now more than ever. Go outside, take a walk, and look around. How are the people in your community? Are they healthy or homeless? Do they get enough to eat? What’s happening to the fields and forests around you? Have you noticed? What about the plastic in our oceans? Is there something you can do? Take a Sherlock Holmesian approach to life. Think about what you see through your own eyes—observe, analyze, and deduce—to help yourself, your peers, the environment, and the world.

Dear Dee, By this time you're set on going into the military to raise funds for school, which will be one of the best decisions you'll ever make. The world is big, very big Dee, and it's waiting for you to explore it; but take this warning to heart. We have come from humble beginnings: the worst neighborhoods in Oakland, murders and gun violence surrounding us, but we endured to rise above it all. College was always referred as a "way-out", and although it brough you our of misery and violence, the journey has only begun. College life is much like your experience in the military: you'll meet people from different countries, travel, challenge your perspective and gain new insights. When you leave the military, transfer that attitude while you study at Evergreen, and remember your humble beginnings. You'll transform from sailor to student; from ships to lecture halls, so continue to sail on through to your graduation.

Look up Evergreen State College and talk about it with the counselor. Don't worry about math, or science or history, because you won't have to deal with them there. The campus is amazing and you're going to love it there. Also, a mini fridge and microwave are a bit less optional then you think, at least for you. Trust me on that. There will be a fair amount of writing stuff, even in a theater class, so be prepared for that and don't let the internet eat up all your time.

I would assure myself that spending a year at community college does not make you a failure; it means you're collecting the monetary means to attend a 4 year university and pursue your dreams. I would also assure myself that graduating at 16 does not make you the "odd one out" or a "nerd." It gives you a little extra time to work towards your goals. Lastly, I would remind myself that without a strong academic background, all of your efforts in the theatrical arts will be for naught. An equitable division of your time is key this upcoming year.

You know some things, but you don't know everything. You are about to embark on one of the most intellectually and emotionally formative experiences of your life. I recently came across a research article about the role emotion plays in the degree to which our memories retain vivid detail; college is an experience you will never forget. Keep your mind open and work hard. I know that last year one of your teachers warned you, "Don't be so open-minded that your brains fall out." In college, there is no way to prevent this from happening. Please remember that the real learning happens within the process of putting your fallen-out brains back together again. You'll leave completely new, with the philosophical training to ask questions no one else knew could be asked. You'll penetrate the hearts and minds of the most wooden personalities. Above all else, trust your intuition. Always. In high school you were told to ignore it. But in college you'll find that your intuition is your unique contribution to every project, interaction, gesture, and relationship. You'll learn the world wouldn't be the same without it. Nor without you.

That college is very important.I would make sur i went back to college sooner and not goofed off , that way i had a carrer sooner. I would have had a chance to support my family better.

Dear Student, When I started college, I thought I would pursue environmental sciences because my parents encouraged it and I thought there were jobs in that industry. A year later, I found myself prusing visual arts. Ten years later, pursuing creative writing. No matter how hard you work against the grain of your soul, for career or financial promise, your spirit will succeed. Listen to what your heart and gut want to be, then give that part of yourself a chance to grow while you are young and have time to think, reflect and process. This is your time to experiment and fall in love, only then will you find the key to your real education.

I would tell my senior self to take the college search more seriously and apply to a variety of different schools, as well as to numerous scholarships. Although college application time is stressful, one needs to really think about the choices they have instead of diving into one on a whim, realizing that they will most likely be spending the next 4 years there.

Take a foreign language and put a lot of time and effort into it. Take chemistry and mathematics. Try to excell in your writing. Hold a vision in your head of life after high school. Other than what you learn in class, the world of high school has very little to do with college life. Cliques and popularity contests might seem important in high school but they will avail you nothing in college. Spend some time at home learning to make three or four healthy meals because the food situation at most colleges will cause you to gain weight. If you have a musical instrument, practice it in your free time. Musical gatherings are a popular social activity in college. Do what you need to to get through the high school situation but remember there is a lot of life to be lived after high school and it is ok to look ahead and prepare.

There is a whole big, wide world out there beyond school. Get involved in it and it will in turn help you appreciate and apply the things you are learning in school. Don't limit yourself to doing what you think you're "supposed" to be doing. The friends and relatives who want to go to the most prestigious, expensive college you can get into do care about you, but you get to decide for yourself. You already know there are more important things than prestige and competition; you just have to follow your gut feeling and put your principles into practice. Get out there and do what you want to be doing, what you're passionate about doing, and the rest will follow. Challenge yourself to make commitments and to follow through with them. Go get that journalism internship you've always been talking about, and use it to learn about the issues in your community and in the South America you so love.

I would tell myself that it's important to remember that it doesn't matter if you don't know what you want to do with your life yet, many people don't, and that's part of what college is all about -to learn about yourself and see what you really want in life. Once you do figure it out, it's ok if it takes you longer than other people to complete all your studies, or if you don't succeed in the first place, that it's not uncommon to have to repeat classes. You'll stumble and fall many times over the course of you college career, both academically and socially. you'll learn to pick yourself up, see why what happened happened the way it did, and choose an alternate path that will lead in the same direction -or a completely new one. You'll learn from your successes and mistakes, making you a better person and molding you into the person you truely are.

Gird thy loins and steel thy will, for the world wants to eat you.

The first few months of college life can be exceptionally difficult, know that everyone is going through the same confusion, mental anguish, homesickness, and stress that you are -- even if they don't show it. It is easy during these first few months, often known as "the Red Zone" to be despearte for social connections and thus make poor decisions that you generally would not (with drugs, sex, relationships, etc..), keep that in mind. Work hard, professors see it and appreciate it, and they will consequently open doors for you that you would not see otherwise. Get on you're financial aid early -- even if you don't think you need it, never hurts. Life only gets better after High School, be excited. Stay in shape during the rough transition periods, running and eating well are the best counter to depression. Study abroad is the best thing you can do for yourself, travel, travel, and travel. Joing sports teams or clubs of any sort, its a good way to build substantial relationships that aren't centered around smoking weed or drinking (not just at Evergreen, anywhere). Keep an open mind.

Wow... what would I tell myself?! I think most importantly I would tell myself not to worry, and that college and life are going to turn out better than you ever expected! I would stress the importance of not trying to fit in and be someone you know you aren't, because the people you will meet down the road are going to be true friends and definitely worth the wait. You really need to relax a little and realize that, although you're a smart and academically talented individual, your GPA and getting into the most academically competative, private college available, isn't the world. Take the time to appreciate the little things, and don't take the experiences that life (and those presented through Evergreen) throws your way for granted. Be open and accepting of change. Be passionate about school and your future... don't take the easy way out. Realize that your future salery isn't everything, and shouldn't determine your academic choices. Don't stress about not coming in with a declared major, IT WILL CHANGE! Keep up the good work, staying academically focused and determined WILL pay off :)

To not give up, seek help and to ask question when you are not sure. It does not mean you are inadequate, but you are preparing yourself for what is to come for what lies ahead of you in your career also education. We are here to support one another so we can make the right decision for our generation to come not just for ourselves. We are starting and setting a solid foundation for our generation to come after us therefore we need to be educated in the right manner so, we can be able to stand. Speak out for what is right because you may be the only voice a person hears. Never be afraid. It only takes one person to make a change but in order to do so, we must do our research, provide facts for the information we are presenting and stand accountable. Be open minded to the information you are receiving and learn how to use the feedback you are being given for the person who is educating you only wants you to succeed. Remember to continue to press toward the mark of success and we are all winners .