Regent University Top Questions

If I could talk back to myself as a senior, I would tell my self to work hard. I should take all my tests, especially SATs very seriously for they will come back to haunt me when college comes around. I should not stop everything and be totally focused and not enjoy senior year, but be more committed to my work.

One of the biggest things that I wish I knew when I was in high school was how unpredictable the future will be. When I was in high school, I believed that I had to have my whole future laid out. This caused me a huge amount anxiety in my freshman year of college. Once I reached my sophmore year of college, I began to realize that the lack of certainty I was feeling was a normal part of life. I wished I had realized that sooner. I would tell my past self to enjoy the unpredictability of the future. I would remind myself to keep working hard, but to not worry about the things that are out of my control.

During high school, I stressed a lot over this life transforming decision that was choosing a college. If I could go back and tell myself one piece of advice, it would be to trust. Instead of incessantly worrying over which school I would get into, or whether it would be the right one, I would tell myself that it's not in my hands. There is no use worrying, because you will end up fine. No place is going to be perfect, but you were placed right where you were meant to be. Also, do not worry about high school. Once you get to college, it does not matter. No one cares if you got straight A's or lost that debate tournament. College is a fresh slate where you can be less uptight because you did not know how to in high school. Just remember that no matter what happens, do not worry, everything will turn out alright and shape you into the person you are today.

If I could go back in time I would tell my high school self of the importance of scholarships. I would warn myself of the expense of college and that if I can get free money I should be doing everything in my power to get it. College isn't cheap but when you get there it's worth it. Also, I would tell myself that it's okay to spend money while you're there. Even if college will burn major holes in your wallet it is still okay to have fun!

Don't procrastinate! Use your social time as a reward for getting homework done. Also, pick and choose what film projects you work on. Being on set is great, but being to exhausted to study is not. Learn everything you can, especially from the graduate students. Don't still around for graduate school yourself, though; move on to learn even more and challene yourself. Above all, never give up, and don't sweat the small stuff!

Dear high school me, Cherish the moments you have with these friends and classmates and make sure to spend some time with them this summer. Stories about the memories you made with them are the best way to make friends in college- especially with your roommate. Additionally, take some time to stretch your mind; read a few classic works. While you're still in school, stay true to your deadlines and don't put off your assignements, not even the little ones. Staying on track with what's due and when keeps you from getting too stressed. Snag a few of your favorite recipes too, before you leave. Nothing's more comforting than a meal that reminds you home when you're sick or trying to survive finals and midterms. Praticing the use of a budget now will help you be able to afford healthier groceries as well as a few treats now and then. Most of all, though, take time to think about what you love and why you're doing this. It's easy to get lost in college, but if you take time for yourself you'll never forget who you are and want to be.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior I would offer words of encouragment more than words of direction. I graduated from high school in 1995 with plans to become an architect. However, in 1996 I became a Christian and decided to dedicate my life to working amongst those who were most needy and broken. My path has taken me from inner city ministry to church planting to working in a mobile home community in Rocky Mount, NC. and now to an intense desire to complete my education all the way through, by the grace of God, to a Ph.d at Duke or Princeton Theological Schools. In light of this, I would tell my high school self that it is good and important to make plans and to dream dreams but in the end, my life is not about serving myself but, rather, serving others. I would tell myself to be strong and not to fear the unknown. That it is alright to not know what the next step is going to be but that it is essential to keep walking and to keep knocking on doors until one opens.

In all brutal honesty, if I were able to go back to my past self taking his first steps onto the University campus, I would tell him to, in my own words, "get off your butt and start doing things." There are a host of opportunities which I missed out on because I deemed them too silly or not worth the time I would need to invest in them. Student activities and scholarship opportunities were not incredibly difficult to come by, and while they did require a significant amount of work, the time invested in them was better spent than the many hours at home simply spent on the couch with a bag of chips and a frighteningly long Netflix queue. These are the opportunities which I am undertaking now, and seeing all of the opportunities I could have collected on, it's not without a level of chagrin that I look back to that first day of college. With that in mind, however, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities which were taken up, and the experiences which carried through my freshman year of college are ones I will not soon be forgetting.

Assuming I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to place much more importance on school work and getting involved in clubs and student government and other similar activities. Now that I am in college I realize how askew my priorities were in high school, as do many of my peers. I feel as though too much importance is placed on the social aspect of high school rather than the educational aspect; teenagers are much too connected to media nowadays and they're too attentive to the so called "drama" in school. I would advise any current high school student mainly to prioritize; realize what is actually important in life-- you only get one chance at being successful in high school so don't mess it up. You must do your absolute best because if you don't give 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} effort, it will greatly affect you in college.

If I could go back in time to talk to myself as a high school senior, I would tell myself to remember who I am, and not to lose my identity. When I entered college, I was having a hard time making friends, so I changed who I was to try and make friends. When that happened, I got involved in some things that I really didn't like, but my "friends" were doing it, so I did it. A few months later, those people left the college that I currently attend. Not only was I friendless again, but I also had no idea who I was anymore, so I went back to my old personality. To my surprise, I quickly started meeting people that liked me for who I was, and they had been in several of my previous classes. If I had just been myself from the beginning, I wouldn't have met so many bad influences and lost my identity. If I could go back to talk to my senior year self, this is what I would tell me.