Truckee Meadows Community College Top Questions

Don’t feel ashamed going to a community college just because most of your classmates are going to a four year university. When choosing a major don’t feel pressured to declare one right away, but take classes that interest you and join any clubs that peek your curiousity could lead you to your dream career. Be a risk taker and be actively engaged in other extracurricular activities and take classes that sound intriguing to you to see if that interest matches your skills and personality is compatiable with your career choice. Taking classes that sound interesting will help you narrow down the career you want to pursue, because you can see if you lose interest due to the challenging assignments you have to work on that may decide if you should pursue this class further on. I declared myself as a business major because I thought I would have liked it. But after a few grueling years studying, I had realized I didn’t want to do it for career anymore. Going to college should be about the life journey experience not about who can be the fastest person to complete their degree.

I would tell my the importence of saving money while I am still young and try to guide myself down the right path in order to be successful in life by the time I am at the age I am at now. I wish I could layout a plan for myself in order to improve my life as well as the life of my family. Whe I was younger, I was reckless with my actions and put my dreams and goals aside and part of that is because I did not know what I wanted to do.

Something that i would go back and say to the "me" in highschoolist focus a lot more in AP classes in order to get ahead and earn extra credits for college. Also not to work so much and instead to focus on scholarships and volenteering. If i had not worked so many hours in highschool, i could have graduated with a higher GPA and use the extra time to write essays and get letters of recomendations from other faculty members in the school.

It is not cowardly to be afraid. Fear is completely natural and necessary. However, don't be afraid to stand up for what you believe in. Throughout history, great leaders were met with constant ridicule, even hatred. Do not mistake arrogance for wisdom, but do not confuse fear with cowardice. You will have days of fear my friend. What you ultimately have to decide is whether what you believe in is worth fighting for. Life might put weight a weight on your shoulders so heavy that it will drive you to the ground and you won't want to stand back up. There will be days of hardship, but the days that you feel lightest, will be the days that you let that weight fall off of you. On those days, you will commit yourself to your ideals, you will stand proudly center stage, and no one, not even the world can tell you you don't believe in a righteous cause. Whatever cause you believe in, your strength will not come from your body, but from your heart.

I would have studied and taken the SAT and ACT prior to wrestling season. I would have contacted more colleges about my will to wrestle at another school, I would have taken a good look at what classes I needed to take and broken it down into semesters. Then I would have to put more effort into my school rather than trying to make weight for a meet, or tournament since I came up short on my GPA for a full ride scholarship. Then I would have looked into native grants as well.

Dear Misti, You are doing great, but don't you think you should push yourself a little harder? You are much smarter than the classes you are taking. And how do you plan on paying for college? Perhaps you should apply for some scholarships. Who cares what all those other kids think, they are just as confused and scared as you are as to what the future has in store. It's not easy deciding who you want to be for the rest of your life, but it is a good idea to know that you are a wonderful person who will do wonderful things. Your smile will touch so many people. Keep your head held high. You have a lot going for you.

If I could go back and talk to my high school self, I would tell me that everything is not forever. I felt like high school lasted an eternity and I wanted everything, to include success, now. I became frustrated and unfocused when it didn't happen. Now it seems as if years are flying by like weeks. I never had or seeked out much more guidance than my own, and feel like I would be my best counselor now. I would tell myself to slow down, take everything one day at a time and put as much focus and energy into that one day as I could. Then the next day, I need to wake up and do it over again. Keep doing it and before you know it, you will be where you want to be. If it gets tough, dig down and get tougher. Don't ever focus on getting a bad grade or not doing as well as you think you should have. Learn from it and get better. Use it as fuel for the next assignment. I think that would be the best advice I could give myself.

If I could go back and give myself advice, it would be to not believe everything a person tells you. Just because you have been dating someone for a year, and you end up creating another life, doesn't mean they will stay by your side even though they say they will. Stay strong, and remember that the pain will eventually go away, and you will be left with an amazing child. Continue in what you are doing, you are on the right track. As long as you don't let men run your life, you will come out on top, and following your dreams. You are a bright, motivated, and determined person. At times it will seem like you are never going anywhere, but push through, because someday in the not to distant future, you will be exactly where you have always wanted. Good luck, and remember all luck is, is Labor Under Correct Knowledge.

Looking back at my senior year of high school I would tell myself to enjoy every moment you have left in high school because it ends so quickly. I would tell myself to put yourself out there more and not to be so shy, try talking to people you would normally not and be proud of the accomplishments you have done. The most important thing I would want to change is my lack of effort, my parents are great and try their best to help me accomplish my dreams, but they aren't the most wealthiest and with the encouragement of my mom I was able to apply for and recieve just enough scholarship money to get me through my first year of college. Now looking back at what my mom pushed me to do I wish I would have put myself out there and applied for more. I learned a lot in high school about academics but mostly about myself.

Relax a little. There is no point in being a perfectionist when someone will always find something wrong with your work anyway. Try your hardest, but don't feel defeated when your hardest isn't always good enough. Live a little and stop judging others for doing so. Live and let live. You will try to make plans in this world, but they will fall through the majority of the time; don't let that get you down. When you have nothing else to do, be productive. Volunteer at the hospital, at a soup kitchen, at the animal shelter: you will gain experience and memories. Have fun with whatever you do, life is too short to worry. Don't be scared of being on your own; it will only help you become the person you want to be. Never rely on others, you are capable enough yourself. Listen to your parents, they are right... Most of the time. Never let any opportunites pass you by, you will gain experience and insight. Learn from your mistakes and aim to be wise. But most importantly, treat others the way you would like to be treated. Always.

Dear Jaquellie Todd, This is you from the future. Please look at all colleges around you and do not go to a nationally accredited college. If you do you will be wasting your time on long classes that will not transfer. Find a good science program in a regionally accredited college so, it will help you get to your goal in becoming a doctor. - Sincerly, future and smarter you.

Dear Chalyn, There are many important decisions in your near future. My advice to you is simple, but If you take this to heart you will be prepared to take on the little piece of the world that is coming your way. Explore the world and it's cultures. This will be the most enlightening experience, but remember were you come from. Be fearless. Don't be afraid to do something because it's different or because it's a big change. We will overcome things you never thought were possible, things that only happen to "other people", well, they are going to happen to us. We are going to hurt, we are going to cry with some tears even lingering until now, put some of that stubbornness to good use. You'll need it. School is going to be a grand adventure, I promise. You don't have to excel at everything but find joy in what you have to do and treasure what you love about it. Use Mom's wisdom and remember Dad just wants the best for us. Love us, you'll see what we can do. Chalyn

Knowing what I know now, I would tell myself to reconsider going to college rather than a trade school. The college experience is much more than academics and choosing a career path. It’s about opening up your vision and perception of the world. It’s about learning new cultures and ways of thinking. It’s about the potential to create lifelong bonds and friendships. It challenges your ability, your drive, and your values, but it will expose who you really are and what you’re capable of doing. There will not be a better time than this to go through the potential life changing experiences and challenges compacted in those four short years, as life will eventually get in the way. The freedom and lack of responsibilities that you typically have right out of high school will not come around again. Now is the time to take advantage of the situation because once you settle down and have a family, priorities change, and your time is no longer your own. Going to school after you settle down won't be imposible, but it becomes exponentially harder trying to balance work, family, and school life. Please consider these words.

I would start by letting my high school senior self know that it is okay to take a step back when moving forward does't feel right. Though the stares from peers, and other judging persons, may weigh down on your young brain when they find out you have "fallen behind," it's always better to move forward with feet firmly planted and a clear mind. The benefits of weighing all your options before making decsions is unparalleled. This includes deciding on a major. The stress of worrying about the opinions of others, in regards to YOUR life, is not worth it. You will never know what another person is truly thinking so it would be in your best interest to worry about your own life and your own future. Don't take the advice of your future UNR counsellor when she tells you to take a year off to REALLY pursue other interests because it will backfire horribly, along with setting you back with regards to graduation. You have it in you to do great things, Ozie. You are an excellent student and a wicked artist with a bright future. Just don't squander your talents on trivial pursuits.

She was standing by her locker, natural blonde hair lightened by degrees to a Marilynesque shine. Her jeans were three days removed from the washer; perfect in her mind. Nails bitten to the quick, she worried a cuticle and pressed her forehead against the cool metal that contained nothing; her education something forfeited to the decision taking house in her body. I wish I could have told her to be strong, to be focused, and to know that there was more than one path to take. I would tell her that things would only get more complicated; that the road would become littered with the little things of life that make mountains. A smart girl, you would think that she would have figured that out on her own, but she didn't. Twenty three years later, with three children to raise and her husband heaven-bound, she's figuring it out now. With laser focus, she envisions her education as a currency worth sacraficing for -- and sacrafice she does. Dinners are sometimes late, free time is something scheduled, and pennies are counted in piles; yet, she knows it's a beautiful thing -- this return to herself and her continued education.

Whenever I hang out with old friends from high-school and reminisce about our most highlighted years one of us is bound to say, “If I go back in high school knowing what I’ve learned now, It’d be a piece of cake.” When people say this phrase, it almost sounds like a form of regret and they’re (now) confident enough to know better from their experiences after high-school. It doesn’t have to be a regret or whatever we “could have” or “should have” done but it’s more about are ability to be aware and compare ourselves not only from our high school years (but anytime in our lives) to use those experiences and improve ourselves now. One day I will see myself as a high-schooler through the eyes of my kids, nieces, or grandkids and just like looking at myself years ago I'd tell them to, “Enjoy the good times and bad times because it’s not always one way of good or bad all the time. Try and make the best of any situations because remember in life you always have the choice of improving yourself anytime you want. NO REGRETS!”

To apply for scholarships sooner. Do not procrastinate because one or two scholarships is still hard to pay for everything for school, becasue you also have books and other finances you have to take care of. Also taht AP classes are important but they do not represent college to its full extent, they just have to expose you to everything. And lastly to talk to your teachers, because they are there to help. It also would help if you talk to councilers at my college to know exactly what classes to take and the first semester is not a waste.

As a high school seinor, the pressure is on when other kids look up to me. Instead of, not trying my junior year, I realized that it was my last year in high school and I had to work tremendously inorder to get my grades up. I would have told myself to not follow bad influnces and don't let people get in my way. a senior is supose to get good grades and pass all their classes and I think I should have went to another teacher to help me on passing my proffisency's. That is one huge test the state has to take and if people don't pass the test, then aparantly they don't pass high school. I saw many people drop out of high school and I knew that was not my way of life that i wanted to take. I took the efort and started organizing myself to help me prepare for that graduation night. I think i would have done better if i tryed all four of my high school years that way I could get my GPA up; howver, I did get a Presedentail Award and most Improved Senior Award.

Advice from the future,

Hey Kid, You're going to college now and you need to get math out of the way. I know that you just got through 4 years of it, but there's only 2 or 3 classes left at max! If you do it now, you won't forget your skills and you won't have to take it again. For every 3 months that goes by you forget 25{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of what you learned, so better to just do it now and save yourself from having to take the entry math test all over again. Also, don't blow your paychecks on things you think are important like a gym membership or concert tickets. Save your money. The college has a great gym at a fraction of what these guys offer and if you save, you'll be able to pay for school all the way through and not have to stop or have gaps in education. Go for the career, make the big bucks! Also, college is very flexible with scheduling, so space your classes out, don't try to pack your credits into two days a week, you'll stress yourself out. Now make me proud!