University of North Carolina School of the Arts Top Questions

I would tell my high school senior self to not take everything so seriously all the time. Stay focus, but don't stress every little thing it will exahaust you being so stressed. Stop comparing yourself to other people. Focus on you and your education. Work hard and talk to everyone. You don't have to focus with one group only. Don't let relationships define you. You need to define yourself. You can be amazing here, but you have to be fearless to get there.

Dear Younger Version of Me, You know what you should do while you're still in high school? Just do stuff. Do extra curriculars, talk to people NOT in your social norm, and get out. Yeah, I know. People? Conversing? I say this jokingly, but I mean it. Not because it looks good on your college application, not because you get community service hours for helping people, and not because you stay cooped up in your house everyday (because I know you don't). It's because you need the exerience. No, I don't mean job experience. I mean it from a writing standpoint. You get into the first and most intense arts conservatory in the Unted States. And you write screenplays for films that the school spends their money on. And you know nothing about the outside world. You don't know how to write about people other than yourself. You're learning quickly, mind you, but it would have been helpful if you had done so sooner. So please interact with those you normally wouldn't. It's going to help you, I promise. Editor you of the Future, Aneesa Mahboob

When people tell you it all gets better in college, they really mean it. High school is four years of awkwardness, cliques, busy work, and silly stresses and by the time you get to college, it’s everything you hoped for; those four years don’t seem so traumatizing. College is a fresh start, a new beginning. It’s a place to figure out who you are going to be in your adult life, and with the encouragement of everyone around you, knowing that that journey is a process. Your professors become strong friends and you get to live with interesting people with different backgrounds and strong opinions. College is a place to experience and discover new things about yourself and learn more about who you are, and who you are becoming, instead of just a bunch of new classes. Don’t fret, high school-me, college is exactly want you’ve been dreaming it up to be and actually, even better.

Having been a perfectionist in high school, given the chance to advise my high-school self, I would tell myself that academic classes are only one of the many things you learn from in college. I'd remind myself that, during these most formative years, you learn the most from a balance between both academic work and the other wealth of experiences available to college students. I'd also encourage myself not to be intimidated by the difficult and demanding schedule, not to see classes just as work, but rather to take everything in stride, enjoy the journey and trust that my college knows what it's important for me to learn. College isn't really about getting a degree (although having one opens many doors). It's about self-discovery and growth - that is, discovering who you are and growing into the person you'll become.

Never give up. You are so much stronger than you know, and the people in your high school were just jerks. Try to find ways to stay motivated and don't party too much. You will meet a lot of great friends, but you have to learn to love yourself before you can reap the full benefits of that friendship. Staying involved is what will make or break your experience in college, so don't be lazy and spend all your time in your room. The teachers are there to help you, so talk with them often. It would be smart for you to get a work study job right away, you'll be glad you did. Treat everyday and every moment in life like a learning experience. Know that you don't know everything just yet. Believe in yourself even though you feel like no one else does, because you can have a successful life. But most importantly, never give up on the dreams that we have had since childhood.

The advice I would give myself if I could go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior would be to work hard in all my classes to prepare for the rigor of college classes. I worked very hard in high school but many times it felt too easy for me. College classes do not feel hard as my high school teachers prepared me greatly for them but the difference is that there is much more due at one time and a very heavy schedule. Looking back I would have taken more AP classes to prepare myself for a fuller schedule. I worked while I was in high school and work now on breaks and here on campus. In my field of study which is Design and Production-Tech Design and Directing, we work a daily schedule in the construction shop to build the sets for the upcoming plays that the Drama students are preparing for in their field of study. So, looking back I would applaude myself for working hard to prepare for a rigorous schedule but I would also highly encourage college preparotory classes to feel prepared for the rigor and time management needed.

I would tell myself that the changes that happen freshman year are unreal. By May you feel as if you have been squeezed through a tunnel, but you made it out the other side. Freshman year you will prove to yourself that you are stronger than you ever thought and that you have a talent that people wish for, so trust yourself and trust that you are in the right place. I would tell myself that no matter what stay true to yourself and follow your instincts. Remember that your family is always there for you when you need them (even if throughout the semester you were bad at calling them except for when you needed them) and your true friends are the ones that support you and tell you “You can do it.” You will learn what it means to really trust someone and you will learn what it is like to have trust completely shattered. But most of all I would tell myself that freshman year of college is AMAZING and to experience every part of it to the fullest and to not take it for granted because the years that follow might not be as fantastic.

There are countless things I could say about the process of applying and the stress of moving and the emotion of leaving family and friends behind, but the best advice I can give for all of those is this: be still. No matter how crazy life gets, everything is going to work out how it's meant to if you have a little faith. For a teenager, the transition into college from everything you have ever known is the most terrifying, wonderful thing imaginable. Terrible and beautiful things will happen along the way, but you just have to dig in and hold on. Choose wisely, and choose for yourself. Not to please your parents or grandparents by choosing the "safest" path, but by choosing what is going to make you happy. Filmmaker Olan Rogers said that "What you do shouldn't be defined by how much money, fame, or wordly desires you acquire, but by how much fun it is to be doing what you love." Remember that, and do not be afraid of what lies ahead of you. Your life is what you make it, so choose for you, be still, and enjoy every moment of this beautiful journey.

Be a little kid. I know that sounds backwards, because you’re supposed to give all that up, forge your new adult lifestyle, and undertake this huge responsibility. Everyone’s telling you to grow up, and so I’m telling you to forget it. See, high school’s not like college, not like you’d think. People here are still popular, but it’s because they’re good people. Being smart is good, as is being funny, and sociable. But everybody’s trying so hard to “do-the-right-thing” as opposed to doing the thing they think is best. And for you, that’s remembering it’s okay to be a little kid. Do silly things. Sleep in the grass. Be amazed by pinecones. Work your butt off, and play your butt off, too. Be kind. Little kids don’t care if you’re fat or old or in pre-med, and neither should you. Smile too much, until it hurts. Adults forget that part of happiness, thinking it’s always some introspective cup of coffee on a quiet morning. It’s also a big, goofy grin to someone you’ve never met before. And always, always say thanks.

Throughout this college experience I have gained great knowledge from my intructors and fellow classmates, that would help me and many woderful ways. They are people who have the same passion and goals that I have for myself in the future. To many of us this is a hobby we love to do and will never be just a job.