Arizona State University-Tempe Top Questions

I graduated from high-school in 2000 and gave birth in 2001 to a beautiful girl. During high-school I thought I had all the time in the world to worry about college. I was intent on traveling and taking a break from school. Little did I know that life would happen and I would become a mother at the age of 18. I don't regret getting pregnant so young because my daughter is my entire world. I do, however, regret being so carefree when I was in high-school. Knowing what I know now, if I were to go back in time to offer myself some advice, it would most definitely be to keep my future in mind. I would tell myself to enjoy life and live in the present but also plan for college, look into scholarships and set money aside to be able to financially survive. I would also tell myself that while it will be difficult going college as a young single mother, it will be worth it. You don't want to be in your 30's attending school while juggling a full time job and a family. Stay focused and do your best.

Having the knowledge and experience I have now, I would tell myself as a high school senior to set goals and to manage my money. I would tell myself to use those goals as motivation through the semester and the year. I've realized that college can be overwhelming sometimes and make a student feel like giving up, but having set goals and realizing that your willing to spend the money it takes to fulfill those goals can really push someone to be all that they can be and to make their education worth every penny. If I could go back to my senior year I would have set these goals for myself in order to be more succesfull and organized in the future. I would have put money aside for my future and used that as a reward for my successs that was to come when I reached college. If I knew then what I know now I would have used the strategy of what I wanted my future to look like to push myself on the days I felt like I wasnt't going to make it. I'd tell myself to always look up; never give up!

If I could speak to my senior year self, I would say, "Don't be so hard on yourself. You're doing your best, now trust God." I often struggled with family and relationship problems and when it came to academics I never truly believed in myself, causing much stress and heartache. Now that I am at a place where I want to be, I try to remind myself that everything that God puts in my life is for my ultimate benefit. The good makes me happy, the bad makes me stronger, and it all makes me who I am.

During high school, especially my junior and senior years, I was too focused on trying to decide what I wanted to become. I felt I needed to decide what I was going to do for the rest of my life, STAT. It seemed like all of my peers already knew exactly where they were going and what they were doing. If I could go back in time, I would tell myself that neither one of those things were ever true. It was a huge decision and a learning process. Even the brightest kids in class were worried about the impending transition. I would tell myself that becoming involved and seriously looking for scholarships were both way more important. I would tell myself to talk to more people and meet some of my future classmates. The world would not have ended if I had graduated high school without having decided whether I wanted to be a teacher or a novelist. I would also tell myself to relax, because it's easier to think that way. Come to think of it, I could still use that advice!

I would have told my senior self to start learning about banking and finances, and to have applied for more scholarships.

My advice to myself if I were a high school senior again is to take chances and be outgoing. I learned quickly after starting college that I would regret the decision to stay in my room instead of going out and being social. It is incredibly important to have a social outlet in college, because without this, you will get burnt out. It can be difficult at times to put yourself out there in a new social setting, but those difficult situations not only introduce you to new people, but they teach you social skills that you would not otherwise learn if you were sitting in your room watching a movie. The beginning two months of college will be challenging and stresfull because everything is new, but these first two months are the most important months in starting your college life because this is where you learn how to balance your social life with your academic life. This is where your study skills develop, as well as where you meet the peoplpe who will impact your life for the better. Make it count. There will be plenty of time in the future to watch movies. Go out and be social!

Try to get to know a few classmates really well in each class so you can study together or get notes from when you are absent. Also make sure to register for classes as soon as you are able to so you can get the classes you need

I would say plan your finances way in advanced so you can realize how much you'll be spending in college and how much debt your student loans will make you owe. Also look into all of your options, sometimes there are cheapers ways for classes, books, dorms, transportation, and social finances.

Your father is going to die your first semester in college. I was in shock from finding his lifeless body on my first week of college finals that I ended up failing two classes. I wish I could have told myself this back in time so I would have had the chance to say goodbye. Yet, leaving me was the best thing he ever taught me. Not only am I a first generation college student, but every semester since then I have made the Dean's list. If he could see me now, I know he would be proud, and that is how I give 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} every day keeping this in mind.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself I would tell myself to have studied more and to orginize everthing I did. I know that college will be a hard time and I must be prepared to orginize everything I do there. Also, I would tell myself to do the greatest job possialbe as the future will come soon and the past will disappear.