Personal Essay Example: The College Issue

In a students school life, the academic level determines the higher educational levels and the root course for success. The decision I made at a high school determines my future at a college. However, I wish there are some questions that I could have asked myself, and which they would have shaped my future at the college, but I never did. Furthermore, I wish there are some things I could have known about college as a graduating school senior, then as an incoming freshman, and currently as a college student. In this paper, I will air out my wish of understanding college at all the two stages I was, and the one I am in currently.

What I wish I knew about college as a high school senior

One of the things I hope I would have known about college as a high school senior is that my success in high school does not count in college. Entering college means starting all over again and trying to build a new educational base. Secondly, most of the things learned in high school are not applicable to college (Conley). High school is about giving answers on what I read, but in college, analytical thinking is required when answering questions. Furthermore, I wish I could have known that college is much harder than high school. When I was in high school, my fantasy was joining college and avoiding assignment, but to my surprise, in college, we will still be doing the same tasks I was avoiding. Lastly, I wish I knew that to be successful in life, my career was to not only concentrated on medicine and law but wisely choosing other professions is what will bring my success. In high school, if they could ask you to choose the career you wish to pursue at college, the choice was medicine, law or if others, then you are a failure in life. Later I graduated from high school and was now looking forward to joining a college. Nevertheless, I wish there are some things I could have known about college before joining.

2. What I hope I understood about college as a freshman

The first knowledge I wish I knew about college is that I should never have developed taste on the luxury things. This avoidance means I could not have missed them and operated under the principle, which states, The wise live better than the greedy on a fraction of the cost, Money moves out of wallet very fast. Next, college life is not all about partying. Time management will be critical in balancing my daily activities as a college student (Panek). Thirdly, long distance relationships do not work. Promising the people who I love and we will be separated because of distance, that I will keep our friendship is a lie. Fourthly, I will make friends. The thought of leaving my town made me develop the fear of leaving behind old friends. What I did not know is that I will get new friends who together we will grow even stronger bonds than the ones I had in high school. Life is a learning process. Currently am in college, but there are some things I wish I know about college.

3. What I hope I understood about college as a college student

The foremost thing I wish I knew about college is taking a philosophy class. The logic and philosophy class regardless of what am majoring in could assist me to gain the skills needed to embrace the truth about life (Velasquez). Besides, I wish I knew college is like a job. Attending classes 8 hours a day for 5 days, which is the same as typical working hours, in turn, builds self- discipline, and which is a requirement needed after leaving college and joining the working class. Thirdly, am supposed to dress accordingly. This practice will go on to the job environment where dressing well makes people treat you professionally (Karl). A character of a person is measured by how they dress, with individuals who wear shabbily viewed as careless.

Fourthly, it is worth to learn on project-management, problem-solving, and hypothesis-driven analysis. The analysis is necessary for college students since it will save them time during their study, and afterward in their workplace. Additionally, I wish I could have learned how to take right notes in college. The right notes will go on to assist me in remembering the concept I was taught in class. It is difficult to understand a concept in class, which is missing in my notes and the consequence is I may not know it after college. Moreover, I wish I knew that in college it is not right to evaluate people on what they say but rather what they do. Most students in college may talk vulgarly, but when it comes to their actions, it is quite the opposite of what they say. Engaging in vulgarly is just for bragging but and not who they are. Lastly, I wish I knew that it is not worth to neglect my mental health. Happiness is the cure for mental health (Rogers), but engaging in negative thoughts on my abilities, in addition to whether I could get a job after clearing college will make me struggle with anything else.

Work Cited

Conley, D. T. College and career ready: Helping all students succeed beyond high school. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2010.

Karl, Katherine A., Leda McIntyre Hall, and Joy V. Peluchette. "City employee perceptions of the impact of dress and appearance: You are what you wear." Public Personnel Management 42.3 (2013): 452-470.

Panek, E. " Left to their own devices: College studentsguilty pleasure media use and time management." Communication Research, 41(4) (2014): 561-577.

Rogers, A., & Pilgrim, D. A sociology of mental health and illness. New York: McGraw-Hill Education., 2014.

Velasquez, Manuel. Philosophy: A text with readings. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2016.