NMSU Personal Statement

During their highschool years, students often look forward to college. Not necessarily as a step towards a career, but as an experience. Over the years, the media sells teenagers the idea of the ‘’college experience’’. They promote it through movies, tv shows and ads. It’s made out to be this amazing transcendental and essential part of life. Miss out on it, and you’ll have missed out on your youth. It’s not only media though, older relatives and peers, influenced by the media, further influence teens. They talk of their own cool college stories and how much fun it’ll be once you’re there. Is your main reason for going to college to live this experience? Then let’s see if it’s worth it.

There are some things within the college lifestyle that are acceptable to a certain extent, but when taken too far they can lead to be great distractions. The college experience exposes incoming students to many distractions, like the cost of financing going toward their education to the challenges that come with carving out an adult identity. Living away from home for the first time also forces students to confront issues that pose numerous distractions from your grades dropping, not doing your homework, skipping class, causing conflicts with roommates, and setting ground rules for developing positive personal and sexual relationships.

Since I am a transfer student, my time is very limited at UIC. Therefore, I go beyond measures to grasp every opportunity that comes my way. Before I transferred to UIC, I was living in a small town called Decatur. I had many dreams and aspirations to make a name for myself and get out of Decatur. During my last three years living in Decatur, I was attending a local community college. The teachers, classes, and even the equipment were limited to increase the value of my education. I working several odd ball jobs to help pay for an associates degree that I felt was not taking me in the direction I wanted to go.

Since fellow students always surround you, it's a lot easier to make friends and develop lasting relationships. Even if you don't have a roommate, you're sure to meet students who live in your dorm hall. Dorming at school is a great experience that you will never forget. For the rest of your life you can speak of your time where you were a teenager that moved away from home to try something new. The people you meet and the times you will share with them will be with you forever.

Almost every new-coming freshman face the choice of living at home or living on campus during the start of their college career. For most college students it is an easy compromise to move away from home, while for others it really makes no sense. The change from home life to dorm life generates a major step for some students. Living at home versus living on campus comes with many advantages and disadvantages. These include money, convenience, and time. Living at home can be both a positive and negative aspect of one’s life.

Life is a winding road that goes through mountains and over water, but also through mud, ice, and snow. What I mean by that is that life is something very short, filled with beautiful moments as well as dark and disturbing ones (well, if we are being technical, life is the longest thing any of us will experience). One moment that nobody can seem to decide which category it belongs in, is college. College for some people can be this once-in-a lifetime experience that creates friendship, memories, and everlasting knowledge. While for others it is absolute misery and stress. Regardless of all of that, college is an incredibly tough decision that comes down to intelligence, money, and future careers. All of which are choices of which many people fear to make in life. Bowling Green and Findlay University both seem to be very sound and reasonable choices; however, Bowling Green looks to be the better choice due to costs and their business programs.

I am very thankful to have been born into my family. With exception’s such as Yale, or Harvard my parents were more than happy to send me to whatever college that interested me. As a child I have gotten to experience things such as vacations to Disney World, waterparks, and going to the beautiful beaches of Mexico, and Dominican Republic. These are opportunities that many people may never get a chance to have in their life. Which is why through the past eighteen years I have been taught, and expected by my family, and peers to do something big in my life in order to continue living, and someday provide the same lifestyle.

There have been a few places where I been uncomfortable and have noticed many people’s mindsets such as being a growth or fixed mindset. The two places I will talk about where I have been the most uncomfortable are college and on the city bus. I will talk about what I’ve heard and I what I learned about how people think and how that can affect what others think about that person.

College can be a frustrating experience for most people. The amount of work given, the importance of every test, and even the late night studying. College for everyone is different and almost always has an effect on who they are now. Sometimes college is easy for a person, sometimes it is hard, and sometimes it is both. College is when we learn how to do things for ourselves. No parents to buy you food so you have to make your own money. no parents to help you with your homework and studying, so you have to do it on your own. Those who have gone to college are the ones who have learned to do things for themselves better than those who have not. College can bring on such a struggle that some people learn to do things themselves instead of always relying on others to help them through problems.

Years back when I first began college I spent about 2 years pointlessly wandering through classes I didn't want to attend to please my parents. To me at the time there was no purpose for college in my life, because I had no idea what I was doing. I only felt like I was running in circles and ruining my own reputation when it came to my teachers, grades, and GPA. I couldn't find a single reason why I needed to be in college, and I eventually decided to take a break from college to figure myself out. Now that I have had a break and took time to find out what I want to do and what I need to do, I can think of plenty of reason why I am in college. Although there is, in fact, many ways to get through life without college, I have began my journey in college once again because I want to become a elementary school teacher, educationally stimulate my brain, and to be able to afford a good life in the future.

I walk into the house close to around eight- thirty pm, it’s pitch black inside my house.  Still standing in front of the doorway, I call out to see if anyone's home. A glowing orange light appears bouncing off the hallway walls and barely brightening up my field of view. It was my mother, she was crying; I asked her why she had a candle in her hand and she had told me that the power, electric, water, and gas had all been shut off. This had been the fourth time in three months.

I have made many mistakes in my lifetime. I have struggled, I have stumbled and I have fallen Still, I refuse to let my past define me. I refuse to let my experiences bring me to my demise.

Throughout the semester, I have grown tremendously. Coming into this semester, I was nervous, but excited for college. I had expectations of how it would go, and nothing went how I planned. I had to grow up and realize I was on my own now. Everything was up to me; I can decide my bed time, I can decide to go to class, and I can decide what to make of my time here. Time management has been the biggest adjustment in college. Last year, I took 7 courses, two of those AP level, worked 30 hours a week, and still managed to have time for an hour gym session every day. In college, however, I struggled to have the motivation to even go to my 10 a.m. classes. Reality hit after the first week, and I realized I needed to stay focused and motivated to stay on track with my class work.

College can be an interesting stage of life for everyone. It brings on new emotions, and challenges. As a wife and mother of three children, pursuing a degree at West Georgia Technical College, I must say, it has been tough. Despite the difficulties, juggling my personal life while being a student has its advantages. My college years are valuable, and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. I have always been comfortable in my own world, never having an interest to explore and meet new people; however, I became blind to life’s unlimited possibilities. College has been rewarding and has provided many opportunities for me to grow and develop as a student. I look forward to more personal and academic progress as I finish my final semester.

Imagine yourself on the very first day of school. Entering a new environment with many new people. The thought of making new friends was exciting. On the other hand, many were afraid to step into the classroom. A fear of what was to come lingered in their mind. Being shy is common among children and is often overcome with experience. As the youngest of the family, I was very shy. I had older siblings to look up to that would do the things that I feared most. However, going to school was an experience that would encourage me to open myself up to others, which was what I had feared most.