Yavapai College Top Questions

If I could go back in time and give advice to my younger self, my message would be simple: Don't be afraid of change. My transition to college was a very difficult one, mostly because I left my high school and my entire support network behind at the age of 15. I had taken every single honors and AP course my school offerred, and still found myself bored and frustrated most of the time. I would tell my younger self that the decision to leave was the right one. I would not lie and say that it wasn't painful, but it was worth it. College opened up new opportunities for me, new social connections and newfound interests; I would want to remind myself that leaving high school does not mean the end of meaningful relationships. I still see my old classmates and friends, and it bothers me less and less that our paths, which started out the same, are now diverging. I would want to remind my younger self about the satisfaction of working hard and being challenged, and remind myself that I am strong, and I am worth it.

As a high school student I did just enough to get by or I did nothingat all. I also had emotional issues. I would tell myself to keep moving forward. Do not let your emotions distract you from what you need to do and what your dreams are. I would stress the importants of not waiting until the last minute to complete an assignment and always do you homework. I would also tell myself to look for academic help. I did not get the help I needed until the end of my senior year and I should have gotten it earlier on. I would tell myself not to back down even when people tell me "No" because I know what is best for me and I know when I really need help.

If I could go back to last year, I’d probably make myself get more involved with my school. I was not involved with much my school my last year of high school. Also I would tell myself not to sign up for all the same classes with my best friend, you will get sick of each other. Mostly though, I would tell myself that it’s not that scary, Mom and Dad are still going to be in Phoenix, waiting for you to come home now and again. Just because you no longer live under the same roof does not mean that they will stop being there for you when you need them most. You are only an hour and a half away from them. I know it’s scary but everything will be ok, you figure everything out when it comes to money for the first semester, due to working over the summer, but you use your weaknesses to your advantages. Everything works out for the best no matter how awful it looks.

I would give myself the advice to go to college before having a family. Having a family is wonderful but it would be less finanical worries if you would go to college soon after high school.

Austin, I know you want to enjoy your time with your friends here in high school, but you need to focus more on school and baseball. When you graduate everything changes. You need to work as many hours as you can with double the work on the field. Although you want to enjoy your final summer before going into college you also don't want to throw it away when you could be making money or becoming a better baseball player. Make sure you stay humble and never take anything for granted. Enjoy the little things passed on to you by your coaches, family and peers. Also cherish the time you get to spend with your family and firends, things may not always go the way you planned on it. I want you to know that everyone is here to help if you are there to put in the work. Stay humble and always give a hundred percent effort with everything you put your heart too.

The best advice I could give my high school self is to be responsible and not to rely on others to take care of me through my school work. Rather than expecting my teachers to notify me that I have not turned in an assignment, or that the due dates for certain assignments are coming up, I should be responsible for myself. I need to take good notes and take study sessions seriously before tests or quizzes rather than asking the teacher for help on most of the problems, because I did not take the time to review the material. I would tell myself to go above and beyond and do my best at all work that is given to me, so I can get more out of it, and recieve the best grade I am capable of. Additionally, I would practice at reading textbooks, instead of having the teacher go through it, I need to read ahead so I am able to ask questions or I can comment on the material the next day of class. Reading comprehension would also be helpful for my future self, so I become more familiar with what material we go over in class.

Instead of graduating high school I attained my GED when I was sixteen. Currently a middle aged, single mom of three teenage girls I know exactly what I would say if only I could make that leap back in time. It would be the same thing I say to my girls now. The advice I would give would be that "life is so very precious, as youth we think time is eternal for us but in reality our presence here on this earth is but a single breath in time. Take chances, experience all the joys life has to offer and most of all fill your mind with as much as you can possibly learn, either from gaining higher education, or following a life mentor. Soon enough you will be looking at more of your life behind you than you have yet to live. The older you are the harder it is to return to school. Too late, you will look back and wish you had embraced all the opportunities presented to you. Seek them now so that later in life you don't look back with any regrets".

If I could go back and talk to myself as a high school senior. The best advice I could give myself is to not wait until the last minute to register. Get a head start. Make the best of it. You have nothing to lose. It's very stressful trying to get all of this done days before the dead line. It would have been a smarter choice to do this before, instead of after graduation.

Don't Procrastinate. Obviously, you're going to want to do everything that the college experience has in store for you, such as, partying, joining clubs, going to games, etc. but before you do anything, make sure your assignments are complete. This way you'll avoid alot of stressful nights where you dont get a chance to sleep because you decided to do everything last minute.

If I could go back in time and have a conversation with my high school self I would let her know that there is a plethora of careers out there to choose from. As children are growing up it seems that adults only tell them that one day they could be a doctor, lawyer, teacher, veterinarian, ect. No one talks about the millions of other careers that are out there can actually be fun and exciting, so most high school students choose mainstream majors and end up unhappy. I would definitely tell myself that I could be a marine biologist and train dolphins, or be a helicopter pilot, or a special effects makeup artist for movies. I was never the kind of person who wanted to do what everyone else was doing so I chose to be an art major. That area of study just didn't work out for me though and I think it would have been good to know that there were a lot of other options out there that no one thinks about. Who knows what kind of exciting things I could've ended up doing if I had known they were an option?