Joliet Junior College Top Questions

Since graduating high school the most important lesson I’ve learned was to, “Listen to your heart and do what makes you happy.” As an 18 year old senior with a lot of pressure about your future and college I know it’s difficult knowing what career you want to pursue for the rest of your life, I mean let’s face it that is a huge decision to make for a high school student who barely knows what they want for dinner the next day. Don't be pressured by your teachers, your family, and your friends who seem to have it all together; focus on yourself and what makes you happy. Don't rush into a career where you will be miserable for the next 30 years simply because you will make a lot of money. Choose the career that will make you happiest and that will have you waking up every morning excited to work. Choose the career you are passionate about. Choose happiness, don't focus on money. And in the famous words of Confucius "Choose a job you love, you will never have to work a day in your life."

Dear Claudia, You have a long life ahead of you and I want you to know that you do not have to go to a community college. Though it may seem like the only option, do not feel like you have to go there. You have the potential and ambition to strive for bigger and better things, all you have to do is take the time to sit down and apply for financial aid and scholarships. The most important thing is to keep getting back up and trying again, I cannot stress that enough. Life may get in the way for a little while, but you have to be strong and keep on trucking through. Also, college is fairly easy; college is just like high school bigger and the classes are just a little harder. Just make sure to be hardworking and stay strong through the first two years. I promise that when you walk into DePaul University, every stressful moment will be 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} worth it. I'm sitting here writing this to you while I'm still attending a community college but I have faith in you that you will finally be attending DePaul University this fall.

If I could buy a time machine capable of whisking me back to my last year of high school, I would spare no expense. The advice I would give covers many areas of life in general, but the overall message is the same. Dedicate yourself one-hundred percent to your work, giving frivolities a lower level of importance. If only I had known the repercussions of misplaced priorities. I wanted to do what was fun and easy, putting off until tomorrow that which would prepare me for a successful place in the world of business. I would tell myself how difficult it is to catch up once you allow yourself to get behind on your work, as it piles on faster than you can take it off. So I would hope the 18-year-old Me listens as I tell him to put aside childish things, grow up, and make something of himself. And should that version of myself heed my warning and change his ways, he can expect two words from the present-day Me: Thank you.

Don't stress the small things, life gets very difficult the older you get, you have to get yourself together and believe in youself to do amazing things in the future. To know that you should make the best of yourself, follow your dreams and not to do what everyone else wants to do. To not take the things you have for granted because life can be very unexpected. To help others in need because you never know when you might need their help. Altogether, be the person who you want to be, not want others want to see.

It' said that what's done is done. Move on in life. Learn from your mistakes, but let these lessons convert you into a changed person that is willing to face what reality; life has to offer. Life is a mysterious yet beautiful thing to experience. Good and bad things will occur without being warned. I argee with that, there are certain issues that are better off to not be warned about, but one issue that i wish i was warned and informed more about is education. I wished someone had told me to participate in extra curriculm activities and sports through out my high school years. I wished they had told me to learn how to manage my time wisely. I wished someone had told me to take advantage of any academic help offered to students for free. I someone they had told me how important education is and how it should be taken serious. I wished, that I, wasn't stubborn and unwise in highschool to know this now, in college, then in high school. If I was to warn and inform a student about what college consists of without missing a single detail I would.

I would take the oppourtunity to go back to high school if given the chance. If I knew then what I know now about what it truly takes to get into a good acedemic college, I believe I would have tried ten times harder then I did then, and I tried pretty hard then. I was not given the option to go to a good college for the major that I wanted to pursue because of my GPA and ACT scores from high school. I don't believe that tests define your ability, but unfortunately in high school they effect your college career. I had to attend JJC for my Associate's degree and now am planning to transfer to Eastern Illinois University, however if I had tried harder back in high school, I could have gone to Eastern right away and it would have better prepaired me for a career than JJC has. My advice to my 17 year old self, from my 20 year old self would be to take every oppourtunity you have to accel in acedemics and don't postpone anything, now is the time. Later is the reward.

The biggest piece of educational advice I would give my younger self would be: go for it! When I was 19, I went through one semester at university because I knew I wanted to further my education. I became overwhelmed by my educational choices and the financial burden of it and dropped out. Six years later, I ended up at Joliet Junior College and slowly worked my way to my AAS in horticulture. I learned so much and love the subject, but learned that I did not want to pursue a career in it. This brings me to today, where I am switching majors and pursuing my bachelors in business. Obtaining my education in horticulture has enriched my life in so many ways and not for a moment do I consider it a "waste" that I did not end up making a career out of it. I would tell my younger self to be unafraid, that an education in anything is never a waste and the growth from the experience is its own merit.

The more prepared for college i am the easier it will be. Taking college prep classes such as honor classes will help me be more prepared to manage the amount of stress many college students experience. Starting assignments and preparing for tests as soon as they are annonced will help me get better grades and will give me the oportunity to clearly understand the material.

No matter what, I never give up. With all the adversities that come with being a college Freshman, I stick to my goals, avoid the common temptations that undergraduates face such as drinking, drug abuse, slacking off (I didn't even gain the freshman fifteen)! I study hard, participate in school activities, and keep one thing in mind, my dreams and aspirations. I love being involved with my peers, the school curriculum, and the overall of being woven into the fabric of my university. I have a deep desire to help others. This is not only evident on campus, but, upon my graduation I will use my education and passion to to serve my community and my country.

If I could go back and have a conversation with myself at 18 years old, I would stress the importance of getting good grades. I have always been a good student, but at times in the past I have let procrastination get the best of me. While I did my work, at times I did not put forth 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of my effort. In my first two years in college, I have grown to love school and really take pride in my work. The thing that amazes me is that it shows and makes me feel so good about myself when I get the grades I know I have earned.