Arizona State University-Tempe Top Questions

You cannot decide what you want to do because you confuse passion with hobby. You love music, and will always make it a part of your life, but this is a hobby, not a passion. You need to think about the impact you want to make. Do you want to impact one household, one neighborhood, one city, one nation, or the entire world? No answer is more correct than another, but you must figure out the answer to this question, and of the various things that you care about, select the ones that you are actually passionate about, that will actually help you make the impact that you want to make. Do not forget to excercise or prune your bonsai tree, but recognize that a passion must be more than a hobby.

Don't be afraid to be alone. The first semester will be full of crazy times, long nights, lonely times and adjusting to "real life" by yourself. Do not freak out over the smallest things and learn to love yourself for your imperfections. College should not have expectations attatched to it and you need to just go in open-minded and embrace everything good or bad which will be thrown at you. Join more clubs and rush a fraternity to get involved on campus. You will regret not being involved and not having an excuse to be busy outside of swimming. College athletics (D1 swimming) will be much more difficult than you expect and the soreness you will experience and the want/desire to quit will fade away because of your great team mates. It will all be okay in the end and just take it day by day. Just do not forget to enjoy each day or you will regret it buddy.

I would certainly tell my past self to keep my high school friends as close as possible. Even write to the ones that went off to other schools. While college is a great place to meet people and figure out who you want to be, the amazing friends that I made in high school are genuinely unique. I can easily say that in high school I have made fantastic friends who I am very close to, but I have lost contact with a few who I wish I were still close to. Don't lose the connections you've made!

If I could give myself advice I would tell myself to get involved in as many things as you possibly can: intramurals, groups, and clubs. Going to a new school is scary, especially if you don’t know anyone. It’s a lot harder than you think to make friends in the classroom, so getting involved outside of the classroom is your best bet to make long life friends. Getting involved is also a great way to just get out of the dorm room and do something other than study. Most freshmen don’t have jobs and outside responsibilities so this is a great time to do sports and clubs. Also, just because college professors don’t give out homework, does not mean you shouldn’t do anything until the exams. They give you readings and “optional” homework and I’d highly recommend doing them. It’ll greatly help and you can always use it to help study. Don't take your studying lightly as well. There's going to be parites every weekend, so don't sacrafice your grades for that one party, they'll be many more.

College is a system. That system can either facilitate your entrance into society or it can make it a good deal more difficult. This will largely be dependent upon the attitude with which you approach the transition. There can be a good deal of bureaucratic nonsense, both within the college structure and within the academic institution. Yet, if you are paying attention, you will also find valuable assets as well; professors who push you to claim your own voice, fellow students along on the journey, helpful hands willing to assist, and an invaluable dazzling compendium of man's developed knowledge for you to sift through. Yet, more importantly, college can be, like any other experience, a mystical place where you find yourself. Allow yourself to remain open to this experience and you may find that when you acquiesce to what is difficult for you it is capable of transforming your outlook. In this capacity college functions as a refining process, its trials and tribulations, though temporary, will refine you in a permanent way. Claim your place in society by serving its ends to find your true self.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would tell myself to never fear anything. Transitioning from highschool into the college life should be an exciting time. I would also tell myself that during freshman year I was one of the most hardworking students in my dorm, and that I was honored with a pendant for making honors during my first semester because I put my blood, sweat, and tears into my studying. I would tell myself to enjoy life a little more, and take time to balance school life and family affairs because you never know if that may be your last time being able to say I love you to a family member or friend. I would tell myself that making mistakes are not always the worst thing on Earth, and that I need to move past them and focus on how I can change things for the better. I would also tell myself to embrace being a 6 foot 4 inch African American woman because feeling confident about yourself is the key to success, and if I dont believe in myself then no one else will.

You must sign up for classes early to get the good times. Large campus and using the bus is required.

If I could go back to when I thought I knew it all, the life I know today would be different. I would be more confident and with all hope or luck I can muster; my college life would be considerably more enjoyable. I wish I could have enjoyed my accomplishments; graduating high school, college, and trade school all at the same time. Why wouldn’t anyone be so proud to accomplish so much? The answer, I am afraid to say, is myself. I had given up my freedom to have fun for school to be my only priority. I wish I could have had more fun and gotten to know friends and family much more. Now the time I spent will never come back. Not that I don’t wish I couldn’t change some things with college. How I wish I could tell myself to apply for so many more scholarships. To find smarter ways to apply for them and to apply for the correct ones. This way I wouldn’t be so discouraged; to build confidence and express myself to be creative. Life could be more enjoyable, and my entire life could have additional value to me.

I would tell myself to get invoved in more campus activities in order to meet more people and participate in floor activites to get to know the people I'm living with.

I would tell myself to get it together. College is an important choice and if you continue on the road you are now you will not be happy with the outcome. Focus, study, and get enough sleep. Do not fret over unimportant high school drama. It will all seem so riduculous in a year. Make sure you do what makes you happy, and if you work hard enough at everything, you can be doing what you want at a great school and you will not just settle for an instate school because you were too stressed about making the right decision. Take deep breathes, because regardless of how sad you think you are, your life is great. Just take chances and really push yourself. It will all work out in the end. I promise.