University of Georgia Top Questions

I am very passionate about creating designs and color schemes. I like to work with people and make them feel better about themselves and hopefully brighten their day. I have very good buisness sense and always strive to be fair. Plus i am striving to better my future and the future of my family.

If my college experience was a canvas there would be stripes of red and black streaking across the canvas. There would be a picture of the most loved mascot ever (UGA, the Georgia bulldog). The backdrop would be autumn leaves, to represent the beautiful transformation from spring to fall on campus. Red stitches would line across the painting (to represent a softball, which is where I spend every day of my life practicing and competing for the glory of God and the pride of UGA). If my college experience was a canvas there would be hands of many colors joined together in unison. These hands would represent the many different friendships I have developed through sports, school, and church. Last but not least there would be a cross that represents my savior Jesus Christ and his love for me. That is the basis for my decision to attend UGA, and he has blessed me every step of the way. Attending UGA has helped develop me into the spiritual, creative, outgoing and passionate person that I am today. My hopes of graduating from Grady college, will hopefully lead me into the profession of my dreams: journalism! :)

So far I have been given the beginnings of a foundation that will help me become a respectable member of society that will be able to contribute to making the community around me better. I have been enrolled in some of the most challenging courses in the state and have thus been given a higher value of knowledge when I walk away. I have also learned the rare gift of knowing how to balance all aspects of life: being a productive, successul student, as well as gaining "people skills" that will eventually allow me to be successful in interactions with others that will occur many times during the career I choose. Most importantly I have gained an independence and awareness of how to handle stressful situations on my own, giving me the capability to reliable and productive adult in an ever-more challenging and competitive society and economy.

I have been able to achieve something neither of my parents were able to but my parents have always wanted me to be able to do. College has granted me with innumerable opportunities in networking with people in a field I would like to be involved. I have met so many amazing people over the past year and a half. Many of the friendships I have made will be for life. I have had the honor to be acquainted with renowned professors in their chosen fields. I have finally been able to realize the importance of hard work and determination. I was determined to finish high school and move out of my parents' house, but the kind of determination I feel now is unlike anything else. At this point, I will stop at nothing to achieve my dreams of becoming a lawyer. The feeling of success and recieving my degree is only 2 and a half years away and I cannot wait for the experience!

Senior year rocked. Intriguing classes, weekly paychecks, and the autonomy granted by my first set of wheels opened avenues previously unexplored. One year ago, every clich? in the book applied: I felt invincible, plunging into every challenge with the undeterred optimism of the young and reckless. Now, having completed a semester of college and adapted adequately to life far from home, more of that luster fades every day. It is only natural to look back in awe, admiring the fragility, complexity, and insanity of human existence; so many seemingly-inconsequential decisions, made frivolously at the time, have molded my character already. The sum of my college experiences ? hours in the gym or on the field, hours listening to political speakers and browsing the newspapers, hours deliberating over course offerings and potential apartments ? influences future decisions in a vicious cycle. How to spend a spare evening, hour, or even minute, matters immensely, but such paralysis should not prevent occasional spontaneity. Thus, the one piece of advice I wish to share with my high-school self is this: Do not be afraid to make mistakes. Go out on a limb; try new things; experiment; meet new people. It?s now or never.

I would tell myself to be more responsible and to actually learn how to cook so that I could provide for myself. That is important because in high school everything is taken care of by the state and your parents but in college I am the one responsible for making sure everything is paid for and that I have the money and scholarships to pay for school. I would also tell myself to make sure that I had healthy study habits because coming to college without those can be very difficult. It is important to know and understand that everything in college is on a faster pace than high school. That includes the classes and the actual college lifestyle. If I could I'd tell my high school senior self to make sure I knew what I stood for and believed in because in college it is easy to get sucked into a fast paced lifestyle that maybe not be healthy and could be potentially detrimental to my future success.

Many of my struggles during the college transition involved self confidence and changes in relationships. My best friend from high school came to the same university; this seemed like a great thing at the time, but I learned the hard way that people change. If I could talk to my high school self, I would tell her to focus on establishing independence. While I am not suggesting that I needed to close myself off from any relationships (I have made some very good friends), I think it's important to be able to value yourself regardless of the people in your life. Ultimately you are a separate individual, no matter how close you feel to someone. It's important to spend time developing your goals, beliefs, and desires. I would tell myself not to let people affect me , especially if they don't have my best interests in mind. Make decisions in your life that make you feel good about yourself, and do things that are outside of your comfort zone. It is easy to fall into a safe routine, but when you do things new, it gives you a sense of empowerment and motivation that is essential for success.

"Be that." Standing in front of a mirror with my younger me--perhaps now, my other me--in my old room on a Saturday evening, I can only guess what "I" am thinking. Why are there two of me standing in my room? What on earth happened to her hair? Did she get in through the window? How? I can't even open that stupid thing. It's painted shut. Younger Me stands there in that faded black graduation dress with her mouth slightly parted. She is silent (as always) as she follows the trail of my pointing finger to the old mirror that rattles when I bump into it. She seems confused--no, bewildered, but I hope she understands my brief message. I was never a girl of many words. At least...not since elementary school. Treasure your smile. Be afraid, but be amazing. You may hate it, or it could blow your mind in all the right directions, but when you see your reflection, remember to ?be that.? I shouldn't linger. I'll let that message sink in with time before I pull a Teletubby-teleportation montage and disappear to the present without a trace.

I am a freshman at the University of Georgia, but I must say that I have already learned so much. This is not necessarily just academic. As a high school senior, I think my view of myself was that I knew most of what I would know about myself already. I felt on top of the world and had no idea of what the future would hold, so I had no basis for comparison. Few people want to believe they are going to have a bad time in college, be lonely sometimes, or fail in some areas at first, but I wish someone had told me to be prepared. In high school, many students are known by all their peers and teachers in the community, but if you come to a college like UGA you are one of approximately 30, 000 students who have no idea who you are. I would tell myself though that the times when you feel lonely or down are some of the most important times you'll have freshman year. I found that I could search more deeply for who I really was when I didn't have anyone influencing me. This was so important!

If it were possible, to go back and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would strongly advise me to not take off the summer semesters. I have learned that the farther along one gets into the required curriculum, the more challening the courses become. Summer semester is a great time to be a part-time student and take the tough courses that require a big chunk of time. I have learned that Physics and Organic Chemistry in the same semester was not a good choice. Of course, if there is no other way, just know there will be little time to partake of all that this wonderful campus has to offer. Taking summers off means you have to stay a student for a longer amount of time. I am in a hurry to get that degree so I can take advantage of my bright future as an environmentalist. I would remind myself that we do not live in paradise and truly life is what we make of it. I would tell myself that finding the perfect roommate is no picnic. Lastly, I would tell myself my Mom was right: nothing ventured is nothing gained.