Ball State University Top Questions

Dear Self, Make sure you take advantage of every single opportunity presented to you. Don't let the incidents that happened in your life stop you from applying to every college possible and applying for as many scholarships and financial assistance as you qualify for. Don't let Mom and Dad discourage you from reaching your full potential by telling you a college degree is worthless. Follow your instincts and work hard to make your dreams come true. Don't give up when the going gets tough. Work hard but also play hard. Allow yourself to relax every once in a while instead of just focusing on work, work and more work. Most of all, live life to the fullest and enjoy the hell out of it.

I would go back an tell myself to work more on time management. To think more about what I am doing and to use what I have learned in the pas to help me in the furture.

If I was given the opportunity to go back in time, I would tell myself that college is nothing to be scared about. I should enjoy as much of my last year as possible and to begin to prepare myself for the independence and self-motivation that is essential to succeding in college. I would encourage myself to remember everything that I was told in high school in order to use that information in college. Also, I would order myself to get past my disdain for writing essays because that makes up the majority of college assignments. Although, I know as a high school senior I would be most worried about losing most of my friends after graduation. But, I would tell myself that the friends I will meet in college are what make the experience worthwhile. I would assure myself that there are so many fun experiences that occur when a group of people are working towards the common goal of passing a class. Lastly, I would express to myself that college is an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life and that I should be looking at it with excitement, not fear.

Get to know all of your professors. Join a few clubs the first year so you can make friends. Study a lot! Take the work a lot more seriously than you did in high school.

If I could go back in time to my high school days I would explain to my self the importance of visualizing the future and picturing where I would like to be in 5 or 10 years. I would also help myself to write down a career path, goal and dead lines to meet those goals. Ultimately go as far as seeing my self as a senior and plan how I would like to spend my retirement. It is important to have a mentor in our lives specially at a young age. My advice would also be to find a person that have or are accomplishing their life career goals. Seeing how all the discipline, organization, and time management required from making the transition from high school to college student pays off would encourage me more to pursue my studies. The rewards for such effort as a college student are numerous. Being able to financially support yourself as a young adult, just because your where smart enough to plan your future, is a blessing. A major reward would if you can lend a hand to the next generation of students especially in your family. Thank you.

The best advice I could give myself would be to make sure to focus on my school work right away and not procrastinate or wait until the last minute to study and complete projects. However, at the same time, make sure to balance your school work with your social life and meeting new people. School and social interactions at college are equally important because every person and friend you meet and every class you take will teach you something about yourself and influence your life in some way. In real life, interacting and building relationships with people are essential to a successful career and life.

I would advise myself to apply for as much scholarships as I can.

If I could back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to start school at Ball State in the fall and not in the spring, because I took an extended seven-month vacation, and transitioning from that to going back to school was difficult. I would also tell myself to get all my fIinancial paperwork done before I started college, becuase that was nothing but a pain to have to work around during mid-terms. Another thing I would mention is for me to apply early for jobs on campus so that I would have money to pay for emergency expences. Finally, I would tell myself to fill out scholarships, because college isn't cheap.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to try to get the best grades possible, apply for all scholarships in which I qualify, and to do everything possible to get more background in my area of interest. I would tell my high school self not to belittle myself. I would say to stop thinking that I cannot achieve my goals, but instead tell myself that I have the ability to succeed. I have come to learn that as long as I try my best, I have achieved success because I have faced life’s challenges instead of turning away from them. I would tell myself that failure is a new beginning; a chance to learn from mistakes and try again with more force than before. Most of all, I would tell myself never to give up, and never to run away from difficult choices. All things are possible, and a challenge makes everything more worthwhile in the end.

Education is not about memorization of what your teacher says to read in some textbook... it is about applying it to your life. True learning is realizing that you could be a better person with the knowlege that is shared with each other. I love learning because the world is full of endless information that facinates me. If only I knew back then what I know now, I could have been further on my path to discovery.