University of Portland Top Questions

As a high school senior I would tell myself not to stress so much about moving and going off to college. Essentially, what is meant to be will be as cliche as that sounds. In high school, I was always stressed about having the perfect GPA and never making a mistake but the truth of the matter is mistakes are a key part of life. Yes, I made mistakes my freshman year, I didn't have a perfect GPA, and I skipped a couple classes when I shouldn't have. But that's what is so great about college. People here understand that each student is transitioning in their lives and trying to discover who he or she is. I would tell my high school self to realize that the person I knew then will not be the end result of who I am to become because high school is just the beginning and when it really comes down to it, high school is a very small stage in the rest of your life. The sooner you can be true to yourself, the sooner you will be well of and actually enjoying your life. Just be happy.

Now having finished my freshman year of college, the advice I would give my high school senior self would be: Be confident. Confidence is such a key assest in growing up and becoming your best self. I have gained so much confidence this past year during freshman year of college and I have never been so happy with myself and life. Confidence is what pushes you to go beyond your comfort level. It allows you to be social and therefore meet some of the most amazing people in your life thus far. It allows you to become a part of so many amazing experiences. Confidence has given me the ability to start this new amazing journey in life, something my old self in high school never would have dreamed of. Going into a whole new place and being the "little freshman" again was not the easiest thing, but confidence made the transition so much easier and worth while. To my high school senior self: We all have our insecurities. Rise above and show the world what you can do. Be confident.

Limit yourself to only becoming involved in two or three extra curricular activities. No matter what anyone else tells you, you can reach your dreams and goals. Just work hard, stay focused, and continue to self-motivate yourself. You will get there with the help of friends, employers, and faculty members. As you prepare for this transition, be open to new ideas and ways of life. You have been living in a confined bubble for so long, that it may be difficult to adjust, but persevere past the first couple of months and I guarantee it is worth it. You will make life-long friends as long as you put yourself out there and do the things you enjoy doing. Keep going and stay strong- you have got this!

DO NOT DOUBT YOURSELF! Stop focusing on everyone else, stop thinking about it. Have a little faith, things have a funny way of working out when you least expect it. Just because you cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel does not mean you won't get there. I know things look dark and scary from where you're standing, but you're a fighter, a believer and that's what makes you special. Believe in yourself, believe in your family, believe that whatever you set your mind to you can and will accomplish. Put into practice every single advice you've gotten and for the love of everything...don't stop believing.

During high school, academic success was what gave me self-worth. I based my personal value upon the grades I received. If I could go back in time and give myself advice, I would tell myself to have an open mind, to from closer relationships, and to involve myself in more school activities. I would tell myself to enjoy any experience, because the time between freshman and senior year moves quickly, and before you realize it, you'll be heading off to college. High school is the place for forming one's own personal identity, and discovering who you are. Unfortunutely my determination for academic success blinded me from discovering what I wanted from life. I entered college not knowing what I wanted to do as an adult; I had not yet discovered my passion for history or language. If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to get involved in more outside activities, and to place more value in relationships and experiences than in a classroom grade. A grade is only a letter, but an experience is a memory that will affect someone's life and beliefs, which today matter the most to me.

Reflecting on my first year of college and all the ups and downs in between, I can proudly say that I have gained a good grip on the lady which I am today. If I was given the opportunity to go back in time and see myself as a high school senior, there would be so many thoughts, ideas, and words of advice running through my mind. Senior year was such a stressful time due to college applications and staying on top of school work, making sure that I would graduate, so I think the biggest piece of advice I could give myself wouldn't really be advice, but reassurance that I can do it. Throughout my first year of college, I remained clear headed and positive about my learning abilities, and I feel that that greatly contributed to my success. If I had done that in high school, I feel like the stressors of senior year (college applications, SAT/ACT, gradaution) would of been greatly suppressed, and I would of had a better grip on the end of my senior year.

I have changed greatly during my time in college and I have learned so much about myself. From this, the most important advice I could give my high school self is to focus on herself. The hardest thing I had to learn was to stop caring about other people’s opinions of me. It is something that people, especially impressionable young women, give so much attention to that they forget to be true to themselves. Trying to fit in will dictate how you act and behave in life. College is a time where you have the freedom to form and develop your own opinions, thoughts, friends, and all other facets of yourself. Do not let it be tainted by the wish to appeal to your peers, most of which you will never interact with again after college. How they feel about you now will not change your future or your happiness if you do not let it. You are the only one who can make yourself happy and to do that you need to be your own person. Enjoy all that college has to offer so that one day you can look back and know you chose your happiness.

I would try to emphasis to myself that life is full of moments in which it feels impossible to overcome your circumstances, but despite that, it is always possible to keep moving forward and to change your life if you are willing to make decisions that you might not be comfortable with. As a college sophomore, I have now lived in two different countries and also made friends that really appreciate me for who I am, but as a high school student, I always felt so alone even when I was with my friends. I would tell myself not to give up on finding people who truly love you for who you are. The most important thing I would stress to myself would be to think about the political, religious and artistic aspects of my schooling. I was unaware of how much of an impact those three things would have on my satisfaction with a school. I chose UP, because of the location, class sizes and professors; however, I wish I had been more invested in asking about other aspects as well as looking at other schools.

Say yes to everything. Coming into college, you are greeted with a multitude of opportunities to join clubs and teams, you are encouraged to take classes a bit out of the norm, and to do things out of your social comfort zone. Say yes, get involved, and be safe. Oftentimes, people can feel trapped in a school as small as University of Portland. You see the same people in the same part of the library, you take the same classes with the same people, and you eat the same lunch with the same people. Getting involved in a variety of activities can help you expand your horizons socially and academically at the same time. I have learned over the past three years that some of your greatest ideas can come from conversation with just the right person. In fact, you can do your greatest learning through interaction, which not only strengthens your relationship, but it also reinforces your ideas and your growth as a person. You will never know when these key people are going to pop up, so you might as well engage everyone you can merely by saying “yes.”

I would tell myself to be more active in trying to meet people in the beginning of school. In the beginning of college you are surrounded by thousands of people who don't know anyone either. This makes it much easier to get to know people at the beggining of the year because they have not yet formed their friend groups. Unfortunatly I spent much of my time in the beginning of the year in my dorm skyping with friends back home, and as a result when I finally did form a friend group at the school it was mostly restricted to just people who lived in my dorm. Eqquiped with this information I will be more open towards the incoming freshmen to help expand my friend group.