Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus Top Questions

Dear High School Me, Take chances and shoot for the stars. Spend that extra hour on homework to get the better grade. Ask your teachers for help. No question is stupid. Spend extra time working on your violin solo for college auditions. It could make the difference! Scholarships, scholarships, scholarships! Apply for them all!! You'll never realize how expensive college is until you're struggling to pay for it. You won't realize this now, but three close friends are all you'll ever need. Last but not least, procrastination is never the answer! Love, College Me

Courtney, let's talk about your fear of interacting with people. Introversion is okay, but you should not be afraid to do something as simple as ordering a pizza. Everything that happens to you during the next four years will depend on your ability to assert yourself among strangers. I don't want you to worry; you will eventually develop this skill. But you could save yourself an abundance of time and stress if you stepped out of your comfort zone sooner and accepted that, although you might make a fool of yourself, each mistake is a learning experience. Furthermore, I think you will find that others don't judge you as harshly as you judge yourself. Just remember that other people, although they may hide it well, are often as uncertain as you feel. Don't be afraid to ask specific questions for fear of being "annoying." Don't pass up that job just because you can't bring yourself to speak to the manager in person. Soon, you will be the only person who can advocate for yourself. That's scary, but believe me, you will be so much happier and more independent as you become more assertive.

If I could talk to my high school senior self I would tell myself that things would get better; friends were easy to find and keep in the Pride Alliance, that it was not as scary as I thought and it is not as easy as will seem in the beginning. I would tell myself to start my day with the 10:10 and 9:30 classes instead of 12PM, to work harder to get that Work Study job to stretch the GI Bill, and to never skip class unless absolutely necessary. I would also tell myself to be more patient with people and school, because if I took my time and studied more then I would not have to worry later. I think I would also tell myself that 16 credits is alright for a Freshman regardless of what the lady says, but it is a great thing to take the science class as soon as you can. Those fill up fast. Just keep your chin up, be more outgoing with strangers than your friends (to make new ones), and when it comes to the point of choosing between two things, just think about your future. Good luck.

Future Rebecca, I am going to need to actually think about college, before Sam convinced you to go back to school you we're just going to wing it. I know you don't want the same thing that happend to dad, to mom but now she is willing to move off with you so don't worry about that. If you think about it, everybody is in Idabel is a loser. I mean, the weathiest man in Idabel is on trial for raping thirty kids. Do you remember what Mrs. Hamiton said in 8th grade? That you would never amount to nothing in the future no matter how hard you try? Well, if you stay in Idabel that will become true. Right now you are doing well in school, and you aren't having very much trouble, except with your finances but, you will get that in order. Make Dad proud, go to school a little after you graduate, and make Sam and Mom more suprised than they every have been. Your a good kid, been through alot and need a break sometime in your life. This could be the opportunity for you to spread your wings and fly!

Wow, I would give myself one big piece of advice, and that would be to not care what others thought about me, and to love myself for who I am. High school is a place where we are all growing up. It's a time to have new experiences and make new friends, possibly friends that will be in your life forever. We are all trying to fit in and be a part of something. While doing so, however, peer pressure and insecurities will get in the way. I remember always wanting to be accepted by the "popular" kids in school. And I would tell myself now to just be me. I know now that none of that matters, and I wasted a lot of time not liking who I am, and thinking that being liked by "popular" people was more important. I know now that I love who I am, and I know what I want out of life. And the people who have stayed in my life past high school are the ones that mattered the most.

The simple piece of advice I would give myself would be to not try to fight the changes that were happening in my life. I would tell myself to grow with the changes and not try to keep them from happening. Change is good and it is a part of life and growing into the person that I am today.

Although this prompt asks me to give my high-school self advice, I feel as though I already received it when I was in high school from my English teacher, Mr. Brady. Mr. Brady often advised me, and one day when I was venting to him about how no one saw life the way I saw it in my small-town high school, he told me, "In a small town, everyone is generall brought up the same way, so someone who thinks differently isn't always accepted, but don't worry because when you get to college, there will be many students with different backgrounds, and you will find a community that suits you." His words didn't just help me get through a rough time in high school; they remind me every day in the university to seek a community where I can relax and be myself. Therefore, if I were to give myself any advice, it would simply be to continue focusing on knowing myself, my quirks and my passions, so that I, as a someone about to enter college, could better recognize the community Mr. Brady assured me of when I found it.

The best advice I have ever received pertaining to college and life in general was given to me on the day I graduated from high school. The commencement speaker turned and faced us graduates and told us that the key to life is perseverance. That advice alone, coupled with my first year experiences in college, have helped me realize that I am privileged to have access to an education. In many third world countries, education is not guaranteed to all. If I were to ask a child from the lower part of the caste system in India, what they want most in their life; I am certain that one popular response would be "to go to school." I have faced numerous obstacles in my first year of college, but "to persevere" is the one thing that I am committed to do. The best way to get through the obstacles that life throws at you is to be persistent; and being a student who is fortunate enough to be given an education, I think I owe it to myself to work hard and never give up!

Relax, college is not completely different from high school... College is not difficult as people proclaim it to be. Make your own experiences and enjoy every moment (the good, the bad and the ugly). Focus and Organize your time (make time to study and make time to have fun)

I would go back in time and tell my high school senior self to study harder, spend more time with your family, pick up extra shifts at work, but have fun. Spending more time on the books would have prepared me for the amount of work that has to be done in college. If I would have learned early, I would not have had such a rocky start at the beginning of my college career. Also, family should always be more important than friends. They will always be there for you, through thick and thin, but your friends will not. Friends change over the years, but your family will last forever. Extra shifts at work would also be a good idea. College is expensive and every cent you earn will make a difference. But finally, I would tell myself to have fun in your last year of high school. After this comes a whole lot of work for a long time. This is the time to make memories that you can hold on to for the rest of your life.