University of Colorado Colorado Springs Top Questions

Going back to my high school the advise that I would give myself would be to just get started. Growing into what I wanted to be came very late in life for me. Therefore making a decision about school and and what my career goals would be were very gray. I had a road block because I had learning disabilities and could not imagine the resources available for students in high school with learning disabilities. With life came exsposure, and the ability to see my gifts and talents. Had I remained afraid of the process It would still be a dream to go to school and not the accomplishment that I have worked through. There are many resouces for finances as well, this was also an obsiticle that learked in the background and threatened to close the door of such a great begining. I have began my bachelors degree but ran out of funds. I would have planned my finances better, because I worked and bought what I wanted giving very little thought to my future. There was no structure to the finances that I had, I would encourage my high school self to plan for my future.

If I could talk to myself as a high school senior i would tell myself that I am a better student than my GPA reflected at that time in high school. I would also tell myself to focus on school, do the work, and study as well as to quit slacking and to not let senioritis sink in at all. Also that I needed to mature a little bit and to understand that some of the people that I hangout with everyday I would not see or even talk to in the two years after graduation. Lastly I would say be the person you are meant to which is a smart young man who is not afraid to be himself.

I would tell myself to not be afraid to take chances, make mistakes, and get messy! When I first arrived at college I was afraid of what other's would think of me and I was scared to approach people I didn't know. The thing I didn't realize was: everyone is new, scared, and wondering what other's are thinking of them! I would tell my highschool self to get out there and meet as many new people in the first week as possible while everyone else on campus is new too. Don't be afraid to go to a "foam dance party" because it sounds like it will be too messy, or don't be afraid to try something new!

Mostly, I would advise myself to calm down. The transition to college is inevitably scary, but college itself certainly is not. It's okay to not have all the answers because college is about growing and no matter how indecisive or lost you may feel, things will be okay and answers will come with time. Furthermore, it's okay to make mistakes, so long as you learn from them. Do what feels right, make good decisions, and pursue whatever it is that makes you happy.

I would advice myself to go into college with an open mind. Of course you are going there to learn and get an education but allow yourself to go to the campus events, meet people, learn new things and truly have fun and enjoy the time that you have there because it goes by so fast. But always focus and do your work to the best of your abilities.

If I could go back and tell myself anything to better prepare myself for college it would be to challenge myself. Normal high school classes do not really prepare you for how challenging college courses are. I wish I would have taken more difficult classes in high school so I would have more of an idea of what college would really be like. Also, I would tell myself that college is a lot less hands on with the professors. I think this would have pushed me to get as much help as I could have in high school. One final thing I would have warned myself about was the amount of studying that I would have to do. Due to the much more challenging courses I take, the amount I have to study has greatly increased since high school. It is amazing how different high school courses are from college courses, they are much more challenging. The amount of studying I had to do in high school did not prepare me for how much work I would be doing now. If I could go back and tell myself these things I woud have been more prepared for college.

I would advise myself to find my passion for learning before I graduated; to become obsessed with learning languages, culturing myself by learning to dance, learning to defend myself, by learning to write and speak eloquently and to dive into college at a more rapid pace. I'd advise myself to memorize the Constitution and the writers who influenced the Framers as well as the Framers' writings themselves. I think, had I done this I’d be further along in my development and I might have even graduated early allowing me to start law school and eventually my career at an earlier age. I am in the process of doing these things currently but I wish I had begun sooner as it has increased my confidence and ignited an ambition that I never knew I was capable of feeling. However, despite how long it took to reach this point of my growth, I do not regret my decisions for they have made me who I am today and I am not sure that I would be the same person without the struggles and growth that I have endured. Thank you for this opportunity, I have you enjoyed my thoughts.

I am sure there are plenty of things I could go back and give advice to myself about but I think the most important does not necessarily have to do with anything academically but rather with becoming my own person. In high school our parents are still responsible for taking care of us. They like to be involved in everything. Whether it be going to a sporting event or a high school talent show they always want to be there. This is okay in high school but once you get to college this has to stop. College is a chance to learn how to take care of yourself and to learn to be your own person. Mommy and daddy can no longer handle everything for you. The advice I would give to myself if I was a high school senior would be to start self advocating a little more your senior year so that the change once you hit college is not so dramatic.

I think the most important advice that I could give myself would be to master time management and study skills before going off to college. Despite the fact that high school is relatively unchallenging, study skills will be very important in college. Take the time to learn them before hand. When study groups are offered for courses you take, go to them. You might be surprised that seeing other peoples’ study habits or techniques may help you to better develop your own. The next set of advice would be to master time management early on in college. This goes hand-in-hand with excellent study skills. Since studying will take up more of your time in college than it does in high school, you will have to plan accordingly. It will be essential that you allow more time for studying before exams, but also throughout the semester as well. Do not wait until the last minute to begin preparing. If you do a little bit at a time, it will not seem so overwhelming in the long run. Last but not least, enjoy the ride.

Just be be confident in my decisions. I had suffered from depression since high school. Living with a single father and no mother can be hard at times but I learned to managed it. During high school, I had very low self esteem. Most of the students were popular and pretty and I was pretty much shy. I was afraid to be around with other teenagers because of rejection. As I got older, I learned to be confident and avoid the negative comments. My family members were big support system in my high school days and life. Being able to talk to them changed my life.