Personal Narrative: If Someone Would Have Told Me Before Move In Day

When entering college, there are many things to consider. Having to make such important life decisions can be very overwhelming for a high school senior. Not only are teenagers expected to make a decision on where they are going to potentially be spending the next four years, but they are also deciding who and how that is going to look like. In the article “A college education should include rooming with a stranger,” Ann Altman uses emotional diction to persuade readers to consider what their living conditions will be like their first year of college.

Starting college as a Freshman is exciting; it is also unnerving. The comfort of everything I know is going to disappear and it will be time to grow up and face reality. However, reality isn’t doomed to be negative if I prepare for my future and

Seniors have a tendency of taking their last year of high school for granted. They do not realize that the relaxed classes and fun filled weekends with their best friends will all soon come to a devastating end. They have applied for college, bought miniature refrigerators, and sent in their housing applications, but none of them have really thought about college in the way that they should. When asked about college most high school seniors image the huge parties, attractive people, and freedom; however, college is much more than that and, in a way, much less. College and high school are completely different when it comes to a student’s actual lifestyle, but they have many of the same traits that most high school seniors do not see coming.

For many, after graduating high school the next big step is college. I never asked myself why or if I even wanted to. Yet, since I was not yet ready to join the work force, and didn’t want to disappoint my parents, I simply followed the path that I was supposed to take. For a while I had no direction, but through the loss of my high school English teacher and my dream of making my family proud, I discovered that college was the place I wanted and needed to be.

Embedded in my psyche as a child was the fact that college was my only option after high school. This parental sentiment was synonymous with a phrase as simple as “tie your shoes.” For me, high school graduation would be a standard occurrence, but my college graduation would be celebrated. The college I would attend required thoughtful consideration because it will be my rite of passage. When I dreamt of my intended college, I knew it would be set in a beautiful city, bustling with energy, and full of consciously creative people. I didn’t know if my university campus would be urban or suburban, but I knew it would spark excitement, fulfill my need to connect with a global community, and offer several opportunities to propel me to the top of

Before applying to college, there is this understanding for all applicants that regardless of where you go and what you major in, the next four years of your life will remarkably change you. Constantly, reminded that the four years spent in high school won’t compare to the experiences found in college, you prepare yourself for that transition. From the classes to the teachers, college in general has a different feel and rhythm. The beauty of college is that it allows for choice. Each student has the power to decide how much they want to invest in their education. College does not contain the constraints of mandatory attendance or study hours required to excel. This is what makes college unique and transformative. It gives you the power to decide

College campuses are swarming with “new adults”, most of whom are still in their teens and are often living on their own for the very first time. They are learning how to make decisions for themselves and are figuring out who they want to become. College is designed to help them in this process. It allows them to mature and grow through experiences and trial and error. High stress, threat to one’s previous identity through failures, and

Opposed to the college life depicted on television, college is not about partying and being independent. Students are tossed into reality, responsibilities and uncertainty. From piles homework assignments to the possibility of not having a meal, college life contains stress and concern. On a macro level, each student deals with some of the same problems and these should be fixed. College students face high tuition costs, limited job opportunities and uncertain campus security. Each of these issues can be corrected by making college affordable, raising the minimum wage to satisfy current living expenses and regulating rules on gun control.

The basic skills, responsibilities, and expectations associated with students today are as varied as the students themselves. Chapter 13 in our text points out that that the majority of college students are white and come from the middle class. However, there is an increase in the number of minority students. The ages of college students may vary widely as well, since more than one third of them are over the age of 25 (Hussar & Bailey, 2009). The number of older students reflects a significant change in the college population. Many more students who graduate high school are waiting to attend college instead of attending college directly after high school, which had traditionally been the norm. This means that older students are returning to college after having a variety of different experiences in the world, and they are bringing with them different skill levels. Also, they are returning for a number of reasons, which in turns

The transition from high school to college is a dynamic time in one’s life that parallels the change from childhood to adulthood. Both of these changes are dramatic and, as a result, feelings are difficult to put down into words. A messy combination of emotions fills the heart, surfacing in strange ways. Confident high school seniors go right back to the bottom of the chain when entering college as freshmen. These students start all over, just like entering grade school or high school for the first time. The move up from high school to college signals the switch from dependence to self-sufficiency. From a personal point of view, going through the experience of graduating high school and transferring to a residential college campus at STLCOP, made me realize I was no longer a kid and capable of making my own decisions.

Before arriving on the campus of the University of Indianapolis, several people in my immediate family and I ended our summer with a vacation that will forever be remembered. We traveled to the Grand Canyon where we hiked 9 miles down, along with hiking 9 miles back up. At this time I had several different feelings pulling me in several directions in the anticipation of college: fear, confusion, and excitement. However, when I process my first semester one thing remains bouncing in my head, my family vacation prior to the start of the 2014 school year. College is much like the hike from the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the top. The higher I climb, the higher the stakes. As I continue to ascend the narrow, rocky, dirt path, the path gets

It is that time of the year: the sun is finally coming out, people are buzzing out into the streets and students have high hopes for what the future holds for them. Students are bubbling with excitement over the change from grade school to high school and others high school to college. Just remember that little jolt of adrenaline and for most people relief when they have waited months for a piece of paper that defines the rest of the next four years of your life: socially and educationally. Within those few seconds, you did not face the realization of your peers that were hit with defeat and did not like what a piece of paper spelled out. You did not realize the other students, like you, who were not fortunate enough to live a life up to now

When Kanis Grady graduated from high school, she was told she will have tremendous fun and gain experience with many different people and at various places while in college. Those who gave her this insight on the college experience neglected to tell her that life gets more challenging than high school. In high school, Kanis Grady knew her surroundings, family was there to help her, and the work load was not as challenging as it is now. Kanis Grady feels that her college life is nothing similar to high school life, the food, the environment, and the work load is difficult. The transition from high school to college is a major adjustment.

When a High school student’s leave College headed away from his or her small town homes they often assume college is a vastly scary place with thousands of people, terrifyingly complex finals and days where you just wanted to give up and roll over. When comparing and contrasting often he or she thinks they will be overwhelmed with large lecture rooms having over 150 people they will never meet and get to know, they believe they will be stuck with cafeteria food, and have to deal with some of the same rule as they had in high school. Yet a student is sadly mistaken more than half the time, a small community college like Jones County College is just like a normal High school.

Today, a four-year college education is often considered the climax in one’s life and suggests a future full of opportunity. As early as elementary school, teachers begin preparing their students for middle school. Those middle schoolers are then prepared for high school, and finally high schoolers are coerced down the track that will best prepare them for college—mainly admission into college. Society, teens especially, has become brainwashed into believing that this single word, “college,” will distinguish the white collars from the blue collars. They believe this word represents the division between a life of ease or angst, success or failure, and wealth or poverty. Top tier schools represent the utmost of this college opportunity. However,