Santa Rosa Junior College Top Questions

If I could go back and talk to my high school self, I would tell her to truly think about my future. Don't just go and hope for the best. Make plans, set aside money, search for opportunities. Some of my greatest struggles to overcome have been a lack of organization. I would also advise her to talk to her counselor. They are there to help, and have given me more information than I could ever possibly hope for.

Dear Jamie, Between your recent parents' divorce and the realization of faulty friendships I know life hasn't felt very pleasant for you lately, but I can assure you that life will gain momentum in college. It is a journey that begins with the first step to finding yourself. Something spectacular shall arise when all those fears melt away as you meet that first genuine friend who admires art as much as you do. Getting through the transition will be easier than you think. Remember time is always moving so you should never worry about feeling stuck. Just hold on to your positive hopes for the future and never stop working hard for the things that are important to you. College will bring many new friends, challenges and fears, but the best part about being scared of the unknown is that anything becomes possible. So I want you to go at it with determination and an open mind; you'll be amazed at the metamorphosis you undertake in such a liberating environment. It's alright to cry and be scared because it is the start to the rest of your life, so just take it day by day.

Apply, apply, apply for scholarships. Getting a head start on applying for scholarships is very important. Apply to more than one college and do proper research on each one. Find out what you love to do and go do it. Don't feel pressured by what everyone else is doing or saying, do everything at your own speed. and live the life that you want to. Going to college is scary but it's very fun and rewarding. Make the proper plans for commuting to and from. Be ready, be prepared.

If I could go back in time I would tell myself to not listen to others when it comes majors and college classes. I was always told "oh just take your general ed classes you can worry about your major later there is no rush". I did just that I took my general ed and didnt focus on trying to discover what I wanted to do. I wasted a lot of semesters doing that and more time at the Junior College than I would have wanted. I would tell myself to start thinking about the future and what I could see myself doing. I would tell my self to take online test to see what I would be good at as well as researching the majors I might be thinkning about doing. I would also tell myself that nothing is impossible and to never let anyone tell me that major is too hard for me or that I wouldnt be able to do something like that becasue im bad at math. Follow what your heart desires becasue nobody knows you better than yourself.

If I could go back in time I would tell myself to never give up. Even though life is hard sometime and money may come short getting an education is not an option. I would tell young Adriana to put in the extra mile and make my studies a priority. It is only now years later that I regret not having finished my studies because I see that I can only advance to a certain level up the Corporate Ladder.

I guess the thing i would stress to my high school self would be to focuse on G.E. more then I did in the begining of my college years. "Get done with what you have todo so you can move on to the next big adventure in your life!" is what I would most likely tell myself. Taking my time as I've done isn't bad, but I would have liked to be on to my next step in life which for me is the illustration program offered at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. I know rushing through school is bad and that's why I took my time to really enjoy the experience, but I feel like my time could have been used more effectively by giving G.E. classes more of a priority early on. With everything I've experienced over the past four years attending the SRJC I'm glad I took my time, but even so if I could do it all over again I would try and speed things up cause who knows maybe I'd be a well known artist by now!

It has taken me quite some time to figure out that I want to become a Physical Therapist. I started college in 2000, right after high school, and I was there for two years before I realized that without direction I was wasting my time. After leaving in 2002, I largely considered the time I had spent in college to have been a waste. The fact that I had not achieved a degree led to discouragement about my educational prospects. However, as life started to happen, a path began to unfold. I realized that my unsuccessful stint in college was not due to any particular lack of character, rather to a shortage of perspective. What I had learned was that I needed more time to consider myself and my motivations before I could expect to achieve a gratifying degree. This time, I consider my education a mission. I have spent two and a half years back in school, and after completing my Bachelors Degree, a major step towards Physical Therapy will have been achieved. This time, it is different. This time, I have a goal. This time, I have drive. And most importantly, this time, I really want it.

Senior year of high school I gave up on myself. After striving with so much ferocity to attend a university, I fumbled. Three years after graduating, I realize I had set myself up to not reach my educational goal. It is because I was working so diligently for my parents, and not for myself. My driving force was making my parents proud of my success, not what it should have been: to set myself up for the life and career I plan to have. To me, college was a distant dream, not an attainable goal. Happily, after that realization, and many difficult months, I am now excelling in college because I am investing my time and energy into myself. If I could go back and talk to myself as a senior, I would share this insight. It would have eased my transition by providing the motivation to put in the effort I needed to succeed in college. Also, it would have made my early college years more personally rewarding because I would have been working toward a personal goal, not simply to live up to my parents expectations.

The most important piece of advice I would give my high school-self is: be open. Though I was not as aware of the plethora of interpretations of these words when I was a senior, I would still like to see that 18-year-old kid struggle a bit to find his own meaning in them. Eventually, I would tell him what I meant. When I first started college I had the mindset that it would be the same as high school, barely studying and getting straight A?s. I got a wake-up call the first semester: A, B, and C. I had such a closed mind, thinking college would be more of what I was used to, that I neglected all the opportunities to study hard and succeed. My schedule also showed this: biology, chemistry, calculus, and English. These were difficult classes and I hadn?t been open enough to see that the college offered a huge variety of classes. I am still a biology-major, but I later took such courses as business, sociology, child psychology, tai chi, and mythology. I now take even harder classes and am receiving the many A?s I was used to.

Don?t rush!!! Even if you take some of the longest college courses, you are still young when you finish. For example, I have chosen Anesthesiology, that takes 12 years to complete including the residency program. Being in your thirties with a great career is very rare and very worthwhile. Most people wont reach any financially secure position until later in life. While your in school; work hard but make sure to work smart- organize and plan your schedule to optimize your opportunity for a high GPA, lower stress, and maximum achievement. One more thing- get involved in helping others through social outreach organizations, doing this always helps you to feel centered and accomplished. After all the hard work, helping people, and responsibility... relax, take a deep breath, and enjoy being where you are when your there.