Virginia Commonwealth University Top Questions

Dear Senior, Congratulations, you made it to senior year! I know that the countdown until graduation starts now. While it soothes you to count down the hours, minutes, and seconds, I advise you to take a step back and look at what you have done. You have made it through twelve years of matriculation to be able to call yourself a senior in high school. Mind blowing isn't it? However, another hurdle is presenting itself. The very same hurdle that you decided to jump the day you found out what to do with your life: College. While the concept of leaving everything and everyone you have ever known in pursuit of this ambiguous term seems daunting, it will not be. College will be everything you hoped it would. You will not fall off of a pedestal that you created for yourself, but only raise it higher, in concurrence with your rising dreams. I am not saying that it will be easy. Money will be short. Food will become tasteless. Hours of studying will seem like a hopeless hole of despair, but you will overcome it, and live to see another year. Three more years that is.

One glance at my iCal and you would know exactly what type of person I am. I color-code, micro-manage, and (if I may say so myself) exquisitely map out my schedule every second of every day. Nothing is more satisfying than knowing I am exactly where I need to be, because I planned it out two Fridays in advance. But in reflection, my advice would be the opposite of my regular, time-controlling habits. One Thursday of last year, my morning class and the two meetings I had right after got canceled, and I was suddenly faced with my worst fear of not knowing what to do. As I started aimlessly wandering in slight panic, I noticed a flyer looking for volunteers at an elementary school book fair- that day, that time. So I went, and to make a long story short, had the time of my life, got a ton of other volunteering opportunities working with children, and changed my major to elementary education.The unexpectedly hollow space in my planner helped me find what I want to do with my life. So this would be my advice: not everything needs to go according to plan.

Knowing what I know now, I would have approached my high school academic life much differently. As a high school student, I was greatly unaware of the importance of organization, prioritizing and discipline. Not surprisingly, the lack of skill in these three areas prevented me from being the best version of myself as a student. My priorities at the time were misguided, as I would often engage in entertaining activities before delving into homework or test preparation. At the end of the school week, I would be so fatigued from my classes, that I would take the rest of Friday and all of Saturday as a leisurely escape. This created other problems, due to the fact that I was forced to finish all of my work on Sunday. Almost all of my shortcomings in high school were generated by a lack of organization, prioritizing and discipline. If I were to give a single piece of advice to my high school self, it would be to largely improve my priorities and organizational skills. By improving these areas, I believe the discipline would follow, and success would have been more achievable.

The best advice iI would give myself would be this is the best time to start over. Throughout life we are all burdened with circumstance that can hinder our wellbeing and I feel that this was my biggest problem during highschool. I let circumstance dictate my thoughts and feelings towards other people, ideas, and things. It was upon my attendance in college that I truly learned from reading Kierkegaard literature that an individual is the most unhappy when he/she is living within the past or the future. When one is hoping about the future and remembering about the past one is absent from the present As a graduating high school senior as well as many we all feel the anxiousness of college and hold some sentiments from our past experience of highschool but it is our duty to fully live in the present, in other words in the moment. I am not saying not to keep memories or hopes and dreams but my message is in the regards that what we do now in the present controlls our future and gives means to our actions of the past.

If I could go back in time,I would tell myself to wait to choose a major until you know for sure. I would also tell myself to not stress about fitting in, because it is easy to make friends. I would remind myself not to try to grow up so fast and live life in the moment. I would warn myself that college level courses are harder than you expect and to study everday. I would tell myself that a key factor to success in college is knowing how to balance social life with school work. Using your time wisely is the most important lesson you will learn.

Do not overthink everything; college is much simpler than you think. The classes are not as hard as you think, nor will you be flat broke and forced to eat Ramen at every single meal. The people are nice and the classes are interesting. Keep your head up and work hard; you will be so glad when you get here and taste so much freedom for the first time.

I would tell my high school self not to wait until sophomore year to take advantage of all that the University has to offer. I would tell her to hold onto the fiery passion that sparked an interest in Forensic Science and Spanish, but to be realistic about taking on a dual major. I would tell her that it is important for her to be herself and to be open to letting others get to know her. I would tell her to spend money and budget wisely. I would tell her to never be afraid to ask for help. Finally, I would tell her to expect to get knocked down a few times, but as long as she keeps getting back up, she’ll come back stronger and ready to fight for what she wants out of life.

Resilience, Resilience, Resilience. Always remember that each day in Life is not gaurenteed to be a good day, or to even come at all. You will face some of the most difficult hardships over the next four years as every aspect of your life is changing and evolving into the next phase. This is a time of learning and a time of transition. You will experience your first college A, your first mix up at Financial Aid, your first harassment, your first travel abroad, your first all-nighter, your first financial failure, your first health scare, your first academic success, and your first major loss. You will learn so much more about the world than you have ever known, and you will come to realize just how exactly you want to help people in the future with what you have discovered. So please, just relax and hold on tight, and you will make it to where you are meant to be.

If I went back in time, I would advice myself to learn how to become independent. The transition to high school to college was hard being completely independent.

The number one advice I would give to myself would be to not worry. I stressed over my grades a lot in high school becuase I thought I would not get into a good college. I would say manage your time properly. Learn how to have fun and study when you need to. Don't be afraid that you're not popular because once you get to college, nobody cares how popular you were in high school. Don't always compare yourself to others, there will always be people lesser than you and greater than you. Keep a goal in mind and aim for high ideals. Be at peace with yourself and ignore those who try to let you down. You have a right to be here no less than any other object present in the universe whether it be those trees or those clouds. Lastly, be cautious and always strive to be succesful.