Florida State College at Jacksonville Top Questions

I dropped out of high school when I turned seventeen. Not long after, I got married and had a child; I believed life for me was lining up perfectly. Then, my husband lost his job, and I became the sole supporter for our family. After struggling for over four years to put food on the table and to keep a roof over our heads, I decided to go back to school. I obtained my GED and enrolled in college. My first day was nerve-wrecking, but I survived, and I'm now in my second semester. I feel much better about myself, and I have a great appreciation for my teachers and fellow students, who all work hard to make sure I receive the best education I possibly can. Once I get my college degree, there are endless possiblilities for me. No longer will I be stuck working dead-end jobs for a supervisor who doesn't care about me. I can create my own path, my own destiny. And that makes me very happy.

I have learned so much from my college experience. I hope to attended Hygiene school these coming fall term.

If I could go back into the year 2004, there are a lot of changes and advice I would give myself about college life. Making the transition to adapt to a college lifestyle is very different from high school. The utmost important things in high school are SATs. Your sophomore and junior years are very crucial, because this is when colleges look at your grades. I would give myself the advice to take SATs as many times as I can in order to improve my chances of getting into top colleges. Money is another important factor of senior year. During my senior year, instead of buying clothes, shoes and jewelry I should have been saving my money towards college expenses. Lastly, I should have worked during my senior year, because it prepares me to become independent for myself and not to rely on money from my parents. High school and college are very different. High school is about growing up and deciding who you want to be in life. College concerns evolving into an adult and the experience of the ?real world.? I would give myself the advice to ?Work hard, never give up and keep moving forward.?

While college seemed as a mysterious world back as a senior, the mysterious world has disappeared as an adult attending. Assuming that I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, knowing what I know now about college, my advice to myself would be to attend college no later than two semesters following graduation. As a senior, I thought there wasn?t a possibility of attending college and working full-time without the consequence of earning average or poor grades. So with this thought in mind, I made the decision to work full-time to advance my bills and wait before attending college in order for the ability to work part-time in the future when I decided to enroll. In almost two years into my college coursework and five years after graduation, I look back knowing that my assumption of college as a high school senior was very inaccurate. Not only am I able to support myself financially by working full-time, I?m also able to maintain an above average GPA. I now realize that success is dependent upon how much hard work you put into something and college is no exception.

No one knows what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Explore everything that interests you- even if it delays the completion of your degree by a year or two. Also, don't be in a hurry to settle down into financial commitments, relationships, or a career. Your "early twenties" is the perfect time to do the things of your dreams. Most importantly, do not be afraid of failure or mistakes. Those are opportunities to learn and grow. Our failures are what shape our character and test our integrity. Society is only furthered by the mistakes of great people, because great people use their mistakes to further society.l

Assuming I could go back and to talk to myself as a high school senior, I don't think I would. The surprises that I had in college made me into the person I am today; however, if I were, I would tell myself to take studying serious starting in high school. College made me grow up and realize there won't always be someone there to bail me out. In high school, I had a 2.8 GPA; in college, I have a 3.75. College made me see that if I wanted that A or B, I had to work for it; just because I wanted something, didn't mean I was going to get it. If I were to give myself a piece of advice as high school senior, I would tell myself to work hard, stay focused and never let anyone tell you that you cannot acheive your dreams.

I would tell myself to take high school more serious because every bad decision you make will affect you in some way in the long run. I would also inform myself to keep my grades up as well as my grade point average. To take heed into what others tell you, in which they are only trying to help out from their past experiences. Most importantly to stay away from those who don't want to succeed and those who are not trying to guide you in the right direction as a friend. I would also tell my self that you are accountable for your own actions so make wise decisions. Finally, I would tell myself that life does not accept any excuses, so don't give any.

I would tell my younger self to relax and enjoy the journey; not to rush life or being an adult. (But then again, I was homeless as a teenager and did not go to high school, so dreaming of being 18 and being able to legally work was one of the few things that kept me going.)

If I could go back and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would have much advice to give to myself. The first would be to not be afraid to ask questions and to speak up. The more questions a person asks the more informed that they become. The second piece of advice I would give myself is to not be afraid to work hard and show maximum effort both in class as well as throughout all of the other areas of your life. Though you may not realize it your professors and later your work supervisors will take notice and will know who truly wants to be there. Third, would be to show respect at all times to others even if they do not show respect to you. It is the little things that matter here, like holding the door for someone else, arriving to class on time so you do not interrupt by entering late, and paying attention to what someone is saying when they are speaking. The last piece of advice I would give myself is not to be scared of a challenge. Only those who are willing to do this can accomplish much.

Well seeing as I was a crappy student in high school I would do several things. I would tell myself, (Well lets just call myself Jay Hi, to make it less confusing), I would tell Jay Hi, hey girl you know you really should set up a study group when you are trying to study for these tests. Trust me they work. Of course then Jay Hi would probably make a smart comment but hey gotta love the girl. But then I would let Jay Hi know about the value of getting to know an advisor and to talk to that advisor about all of her plans for her education. When the advisor knows all of your plans they can help you make the smoothest transition and get all your pre reqs. I would also tell Jay Hi the benefit of maintaining a high GPA. hey College is soo much easier than high school all ya gotta do is study and take the tests. Nothing to it. Lastly I would tell Jay Hi to get out there and get to know people. It makes college life soo much nicer to join a club oe Honor Society. Hope She Listens!