University of California-Los Angeles Top Questions

to work hard and pass your dreams

I would talk to myself about the importance of being less influenced by my peers and more on finding my sense of direction. Follow the rules. I should have concentrated on getting more out of school rather than getting out of school.

Oftentimes in high school, girls are dramatic. Okay, that is an understatement... Girls are almost always dramatic. I learned the hard way that something that may seem like the worst thing in the world is rarely as important or detritimental as it appears to be in the moment. If I could talk to my high school self, I would remind myself that not everything is the end of the world. When your boyfriend breaks up with you or you don't get an A on the test that you were hoping for, it is unlikely to torment you the rest of your life. Life keeps going. I would also tell my younger self that stress and anxiety are the enemy; they will in no way help you do better on a test or get back together with your boyfriend. Letting yourself be anxious about anything is not beneficial and will likely hinder you from reaching your full potential.

Don't go further than you're willing to go in the future. Project the self you want to be and trust that the right admissions office will want that person. Don't mold yourself for a school, let the right school identify you as someone they can see as a part of their student body. College admissions offices know best. If their eyes are clouded by prejudice or bias, then it's their loss, not yours. You do not want to go to a school where you do not belong, where you are constantly trying to prove something that's not true. You do not want to be there to solely fill a quota or because of one false trait you exaggerated in your application. Stay true to who you want to be, not who you think you should be. Numbers don't mean a thing. You and what you can do with your resources are the only thing you need to showcase and the right resources will present themselves to you.

There are two things you cannot take back once done- the word after it is said and time after it has passed. All the things I have been through have lead me to be where I am today; happy. Too often we strive for the wrong form of gratification- a new car, a passing grade, or reserving a spot in our hearts for someone temporary. Pain and suffering is short-lived in comparison for what is to come. I have yet to experience some of the greatest days of my life, and everything that leads up to that moment of complete satisfaction and bliss is going to be worth it because once I am there, everything I went through will feel worthwhile. So I would just watch that girl and let her experience life from the heartaches to the happiness, and I would let just look at her and tell her "there is so much to look forward to."

I’ve completed my first year of college with new friends, memories, and ambitions. While a psychic reading would’ve been helpful during my senior year of high school, I shouldn’t have worried excessively. Embrace the present to ensure a better future. If procrastination were a deadly sin, I would’ve gone to hell long ago. All-nighters won’t disappear until you modify your habits. I’ve sprinted—up stairs and hills, through major crowds—to English classes on essay due dates. If I allotted myself more study time, I could’ve spent less time in the floor lounge at 4am, eyes glazed over my computer screen. Prioritize academics without sinking. Now and then, explore the local beach or museum. These are incentives for hard work. Study to understand: not just to reach a benchmark. B+ instead of an A-? Oh, well. It’s more remarkable to discuss class material and apply it to daily conversation. Sometimes, embarrassment is essential for progression. Enjoy college life while you can. Even when facing homesickness or academic, health, and personal issues. Difficult times are temporary; your harnessed mental strength is an everlasting asset. Above all, amazing college memories outweigh unpleasant ones.

Be open to participating in different acadmeic and social experiences and becoming active in organizations that may interest you early on. Create a few plans for your desired college path and discuss obstacles you may potentially face that way you have alternative plans. Become aquainted with financial terms, create a financial plan early on, and try to minimize the debt and loans you will take on. Try to establish a group of friends in every class, organization, or activity you participate in that way you have great networking potential and at the same time new friends to ask questions if you forgot something or to just socialize with. Try to figure out the right balance between your academic and social life, if you are looking for a more competitive career you will naturally have to work harder on the academic side. Analyze the habits you previously had and ask yourself if you are spending your time in the best way. Most importantly enjoy what you are learning in class and outside of class and to appreciate the opportunity to participate in the transition state from high school student to college student, an opportunity not everyone is lucky enough to experience.

When you set up your first email account, rethink choosing the username, glitterglamgirl, to submit to college applications. Always assume the test will be hard. Intelligence might have made you stand out in high school, but your work ethic is what matters in college. But, if you feel like what you are doing is not right for you, stop. You choose your life path, not your parents. Quit having that attitude with them and they may actually understand. Expand your horizons. You are never going to have more freedom and opportunities to try out new interests as you do now. Not everything is for resume-boosting and how else will you figure out where your passions lie. Be frugal but not too cheap that you miss out on experiences you only have available now. From LGBTQ*, adoption, depression, suicide, poverty, and rape victims, you will meet a diverse range of friends in college from all walks of life. Don’t judge or assume. Everyone has a story, a struggle, a reason behind their actions. So, never be too busy to be a good friend, sister, and daughter. You don't want to lose your heart in pursuit of your brain.

Like the ancient inscription on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, I would say, "Know thy self". In high school I was less assured than I am now and would constantly change my opinion based on the whims of others, never quite feeling confident in my choices about college and my education. I would say to myself--don't worry. Don't put such an emphasis on making sure everything followed this preplanned script you had written in your head and realize that chance is the spice of life. I would tell myself to seek adventure and to follow it wherever it may lead. To enjoy the moments of being young and carefree, knowing you might never have the opportunity of reliving it again if you are too focused on becoming an adult. Everything has its time and place. Trust that the universe has a plan for you if you allow it to guide and show you as Paulo Coelho might say, "your personal legend". The transition like all transitions in life will be difficult and may seem overwhelming but with conviction and a willingness to take advantage of any chance that comes your way; success will naturally follow.

My first year at college took hard work, perseverance, and all the other inspriring catchphrase words that go along with success. More than anything else, though, my time at UCLA took patience. I was in a long-distance relationship for most of the year, and for several months, I was helping a friend through depression. A girl I know, who suffered from drug-induced psychosis, developd an inexplicable attachment to me, and one of my closest friends had an emotional breakdown and channeled her emotion entirely toward me. Although the year ended well with everyone safe and content, I would have appreciated a pep talk. I don't know whether anything anyone said to me my senior year of high school would have truly prepared me for the trying times to come, but I am choosing to believe that, in a world in which I could travel through time to casually give myself a few words of wisdom, I would also have the power to say the words my high-school self needed to hear: "Joshua, college will be different than anything you have ever done, and it will be challenging in unique ways; be patient" (or something like that).