Ohio University-Eastern Campus Top Questions

As a high school senior, I had no idea what I wanted. I looked around me and saw the students who knew what they wanted to do after high school, whether it be going to college, joining the army, or just working. I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to be, where I wanted to go, and this terrified me. When I confided in peers, they couldn’t relate to feeling so lost; and when I talked to teachers and parents, I would get a nonchalant ‘you’ll figure it out’. These feelings of being overwhelmed, scared, and lonely are what caused me to not go to college my first year out of high school. Now, I would tell my senior self that college is the way to figure out what you want. I would express to her that college isn’t just for the people who know, college is also there to help you decide. I didn’t realize at the time that there were people like me; lost and undecided. I would reassure her that going to college will give her the tools and education she needs to figure out who she is, and what she wants.

I would consider all my options, the price of tuition, and what college would give me more bang for my money. I would keep in mind that I would need to pick a degree in a field that I like and also provide a secure job. I would still study and try to maintain a grade point average of at least 3.8. I would advise scheduling some "me" time each week to help with relaxin, and to eat properly and get enough rest.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior what I would want to say is, "Don't dally around and be lazy. There'll be plenty of time for that after your work's done. Learn as much as possible while you're young." What I would say, however, is essentially nothing. There's nothing you can tell yourself to prepare yourself for what's ahead. In any case, I would also choose not to do this because if anyone knows me best, it's myself. You can't learn anything if you go in knowing what's ahead; people learn their best when they make mistakes - you can't learn from nothing. That's why I'm starting all over with my education, I want to succeed and be my best person. I'm glad no one ever told me how to do it. I like learning these things as I go, and if I make more mistakes then I'll just continue to grow from them. Life is tough, and even though I had to learn the hard way, I would never change the way I did things. Not ever.