Indiana University-Bloomington Top Questions

I don't believe that college has given me the step up I've desired from my transition out of High School. Attending the best known and highest ranking public school in Indiana, my big state university has had little change in atmosphere while proffessors seem hardly different from my high school teachers. Despite this being said I can see college as a new way to challenge myself academically, something I never put much effort into. I've understood that school is not all that difficult, but the more effort you put into it the greater results will become. The focus has centered to myself and only me as responsible for my life from here on out. At first I didn't recognize the responsibility thrust upon me because of the haze of a new school, new people, and a new enviroment. Now these things have cleared and I have begun to value myself as a college student who needs to be accomplished and successful as I lay the foundations of my future career and self.

I did not graduate from high school, in fact I dropped out after my sophomore year. However, it did not take me long to realize how important an education is in order to be a successful and contributing member of society. Ultimatley, I obtained my GED in August of 2005 and began my journey to my career path. The most important thing I have achieved during my college experience is a well rounded education. I have not only learned new subjects, but I have also been exposed to a diverse and interesting community of college students. I have developed new relationships, and I have learned that I truly enjoy learning about new subjects and meeting new people. I have learned that I am responsible for my future and if I want to succeed in life, I must work hard and be dedicated to my educational goals. My college experience has been valuable to me because it has allowed me to grow and become a more well rounded person.

Coming from a small town in southern Indiana means that I never experienced much diversity. However, Indiana University has made my life more diverse. I have tried foods from different cultures that I have never even heard of, I have made friends of different races and sexual orientations than my own and I have met people from almost every place in the world. These are all things that I could have never experienced in my small town. The diversity and culture I have experienced at Indiana University has made me want to pursue a career that involves international relations of some sort. Even though I am currently majoring in biology and pre-dentistry, I want to turn my goal of becoming a dentist into something that is international, such as working in third world countries. If I had never attended Indiana University, I may have not experienced this diversity. I am grateful that I chose to go there because it has broadened my horizons and my view of the world.

At first I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do or have any idea what steps to take to get to these goals. I was a lazy kid and didn't have much drive. However, in college I have held multiple positions and taken a lot of classes that have finally led me to what I want to do with my life. College has been great for directing me on the path I should take and making me a self-motivated student.

My first day of college I was scared out of my mind. I had an emotional goodbye with my parents which made me wonder how I would live without my family (we are all very close). I was scared because financially we were struggling and because I now had to become more resourceful--my dad would not be there to clean up my mess. After a few weeks in college, I learned to become more assertive and dependent on myself. I found my own job, managed to acheive all As and one pathetic grade (C) in my math class, and I also was able to care for myself perfectly fine (I made/bought my own meals, cleaned my dorm, woke up on time for classes and church, etc.). College had transformed me into an assertive person. In fact, I was even able to organize a mini protest against anti-Semitic vandalism that had occurred on campus. Long story short, college has made me a different person. IU has given me direction in life and helped me to become more organized and self-assured. For all of this, I am very thankful.

My college experience has exposed me to many different people. I have changed as a person from all the people who have made tiny impacts on me. I have become more caring and giving thanks to the people who have shown me what true sacrifice and pain is. Primarily, I have gotten an amazing education out of college. Concepts and ideas I could not understand previously are making sense to me now. I have become a better student thanks to the professors who have pushed me. College has shown me various people and cultures. It has provided me with the first steps into real life. It is valuable because it is giving me new views on life. I am able to use various new ideas to take on problems. It has change me to become a better person. I am more reliable and accoutnable now. I am able to strive fro excellence with the confidence that college has given me. I have also met many people that will lead to networking people. There are many people who I am now able to contact for support in future goals.

I have gained cultural knowledge and the ability to accept those with differing views on life than I. Working with fellow students from different parts of the country and world has given me tremendous insight into not only how others think, but also how I think - a skill that is critical for my studies in communications and culture. The resources available to the students has also made IU an invaluable part of my social, academic, and educational life. I have worked on original Social Networking website up-starts, trained for two years with the Parkour and Freerunning Club, acted in several films - many of which required me to train various martial arts, played music with talented students and locals, and have been a regular at local house shows - exposing me to new music I would have otherwise never heard. Indiana University is by no means a place to go for just an education. What I have learned outside the classroom has been at least as important as my academics, and possibly even more so. College is way more than just a place to learn - It is where people go to figure out who they are, and I have undoubtedly succeeded.

As and incoming freshman into college this semester I began in full awareness that there would be challenges. Having undergone muscular severing in the eyes as an infant and having struggled through life visually impaired, the thought of needing to obtain the reading and comprehension level necessary to successfully complete my coursework seemed daunting. In my efforts to create a college experience that would be more supportive to my disability and creative in ways or means that could establish me more equally in the academic setting I sought support services offered at my school. Learning I would be able to negotiate additional time for test taking and with my assignments was significant. Also working with each of my instructors to clearly express my visual impairment and its limitations was beneficial. After working through several weeks of classes, and still needing additional resourceful means of obtaining the material, I was assisted by a fellow student who provides ‘note-taker’ support for me class. Learning to clearly communicate my needs, and then move through a phase of assessment, and then revising my communications, has been valuable.

I have gotten so many experiences here that I don't think I would've gotten anywhere else. There is such a huge pool of creativity and art around here, it's impossible to not get involved in some of it, and it has always been incredibly rewarding. I was just recently in a webseries that just finished principal photography called Student Seven (www.studentseven.com), and meeting the rest of the cast, the production crew, the people that came to teach us fight choreography and parkour, was an experience like none other. And this was just a student-made production! That was an incredibly valuable experience that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. And being at such a large school, most people would say it is very impersonal because you don't know who anyone is, but it's surprisingly easy to meet people, to make connections, and lasting connections here that I don't think anyone would expect. I love this place.

College held a lot of change for me, and with change came responsibility. I became responsible for myself, which wasn’t entirely true in high school. In college, I had to choose my major, I had to choose my classes and I had to make myself go to them. Even though college increased the amount of responsibility in my life, I also came out of my shell. I went to school without any of my close friends, so I had to make new ones. I could no longer be the introvert I was comfortable with being. My outgoing and personable side really came out. I made friends and even joined a sorority. I am no longer the shy girl, who didn’t branch out in high school. My first year of college may have been a lot of change, but I wouldn’t do it any differently. I have learned a lot in my classes and how to manage my time so that I do well in them. However, college has also taught me a vast amount about myself. For that I am truly thankful and can’t wait to continue this amazing journey and see where else I go.