West Valley College Top Questions

I was in desparate need of a pep talk. I would have told myself, "suck it up. Community college won't be as bad as you imagine it to be." Instead, I dropped out of my first semester at West Valley College within a month and spent the rest of the year working full time and partying, even though I had done extremely well in high school. I not only let my parents down, but I watched most of my senior class surpass me in their post-high school academic pursuits. I realize now that even though my first year there would have felt like a repeat of my senior year (many of my peers attended West Valley after graduating) I would have enjoyed the empowerment attained from my studies as the student is able to control their educational destiny once in college. The thrill of being able to learn about subjects not offered in high schools and the anticipation of the next semester's studies has motivated me through my journey here as I have always been an avid learner. If I had known this, I definetly would have stuck it out the first year.

The biggest regret that I have as a high school senior was the assumption that I did not have what it took to go to college. I took 2 years off after high school to get my head on straight and set goals for myself. The time I took off made me grow up and even though I am struggling on my own with no support from my parents, I now realize the importance of getting an education and doing whatever it takes to get there including excellerating in all of my classes and getting grades I would have never thought I could have. I would have told myself to never assume that I couldn't achieve something because of what anybody else told me and to set HIGH goals for myself because without doing at least that, I would not have made any of the baby steps that furthered me in getting where I am now.