University of North Florida Top Questions

I would of made sure that I worked harder my senior year, so I could have gotten scholarships to help pay for my classes. I also would of pushed myself to be more involved in clubs, to broaden my activties.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself that a wonderful experience was awaiting me at UNF, and to study hard, manage my time well, and to save money. I would tell myself that it's really important to make time for things you both need and want to do, and definitely to have an emergency fund in the savings account, because when you are living on your own, there is really no telling what can come up. I would make sure that I understood the responsibilites that come with living on your own, and being an independent college student.

I'm the eldest of four children. Whenever I speak to my two brothers it feels as if I am traveling back through time and speaking with myself. I see much of my past-self in my high school siblings. I do my best to explain to them what I've learned so that they can make the college transition more maturely and successfully than I did. I'm incessantly advising them of how crucial it is for them to truly pay attention in their courses; so that they learn to take proper notes and prepare themselves to capture key subject matter from their instructors lectures. Reading is paramount for academic success, I ask my younger brothers to always do their assigned readings. I tell them of the importance to read in a distraction-free environment where they may sincerely focus on their text. In high school I would never study for tests, it made my first college year difficult for me as I had no technique. I encourage Hunter & Taylor that no matter how easy the test, they always should study. I learned from my mistakes, I hope my brothers learn from my mistakes too. Avoiding hardship, welcoming success.

If I was about to talk to my high school senior self, I would tell myself a few important things. The first being that college is not something to be anxious or worried about. Friends will come with time, and college is different then any other stage of your life. People become closer in college than in high school because they are living together. Do not fret over the small things while still in high school. Enjoy what you have while you have it, and I promise you will enjoy the next stage too! Then, I would have told myself to study more for my AP Tests. I'd explain how nice it would be to have more free room in my schedule to take classes that aren't required for my degree. But, not to worry too much about the AP Tests because it really all does work out in the end. And finally I'd tell myself to enjoy the changes as they are happening. Rejoice in the small things and the big things will come!

Knowing what I know now I would make sure I was very organized of first off. I found being very organized made things a lot easier just because I was on my own and knew the things I had to get done. Secondly, I would tell myself to manage my time wisely. Being able to manage my time was the biggest struggle for me because there was always other distractions to get me side tracked. Lastly, I would tell myself to enjoy college. I have completed three years of college and time has flown by, knowing this I would enjoy every second.

When I was in high school, I was very nervous about high school. It almost seemed so intimidating to me because of the big size, number of students, and overall the amount of homework that I would be getting. So if I had the chance to go back to the high school me, I would tell myself not to be worried about college. In fact, college is a lot easier than high school. There is more freedom to decide what classes you want to take and what times you want to take them. I was always a late sleeper, so I would tell my high school self that I would finally be able to sleep as much as I wanted before a class. Yays! Overall, college is a fun experience and even though I made some mistakes, I learned from them and learned to become a better person.

As a senior in high school, my college decisions were based on what I thought other people wanted me to do. I chose a major based on what I thought would get me a good job and make decent money, not something I had a passion for. I now feel that life is too short to spend it doing something that you aren't absolutely fascinated with every day, no matter how long you've been doing it. I regret that it took me leaving school and working dead-end jobs to realize that fact, but I think that now, as I return to school, my life and my education will be much more valuable to me.

If I was given the opprotunity to travel back in time to talk to myself as a high school senior I would have an endless list of things to warn and remind myself about. However, first and foremost, I would have to let myself know that even though I never believed it, I'm have to study in college. And then I would mention the fact that "even though it was a breeze to fly through high school, your unfortunatly going to have to miss your first college date because science exams would kick your butt otherwise". Nonetheless, in all honesty, I would tell myself that college is going to be the time of my life and every moment needs to be treasured. As it has been said ?you can't change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future?. College is an amazing opprotunity, and I would remind myself to take it for all that its worth!

After two and a half years at University of North Florida, I have grown to find out the person I am today. I have grown in confidence and learned that pleasing others is not always what pleases yourself, your morals, and your values. If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to do what feels right to me and only me. Going through high school and college, there is so much pressure to be the perfect student. In high school, I was the honors student, the teacher's aid, the varsity athlete, the leadership student, and the list goes on. I was so busy pleasing everyone in all my classes, clubs, organizations, and home that I lost track of what I wanted and what made me the person I am today. In college, I have discovered that I don't have to please those who want less of what I am capable of giving. I have learned that it is alright to let my true self shine; to show everyone that I love the person who I am today. Finding yourself is what counts, the rest will follow.

Procrastination is a killer in high school, from waiting until the last minute to complete a homework assignment to post-poning ordering your cap and gown for graduation. It is certainly not something you would want to do throughout your senior year; I found that out the hard way. As I am currently pushing myself through my second semester in college, I definitely wish that I could go back in time to my senior year of high school to tell myself the basic do's and don'ts of preparing for college. For example, I should not have waited until the last minute to apply to colleges and to apply for scholarships. Living the life of a so-called "typical" college student, I find myself practically living off of ramen noodles and pbj's. Had I have known that all of the money that I had to my name would have been used up on tuition, fees, books and housing, I would have put more effort into the scholarships that I did apply to. I also would have pushed myself harder in high school by taking more AP classes and by being a more regular member of school clubs.