Big Changes in Store
I have had many turning points in my life. Most of my turning points were out of necessity, nonetheless important points of change that shaped my character and being. I grew up in a two parent blended household where at seventeen years of age I wanted to escape the familiar and experience something new. My journey began as an inhibited and fearful seventeen-year-old leaving home for collegiate life. I remember encountering new people and new experiences that I wasn’t use to. As a college student growing independent, I reasoned that I had to keep the values and beliefs of my family and although I wanted to experience something new I was afraid to step out of my comfort zone. My collegiate life was my coming of age experience. I transitioned from my parent’s thoughts into my own being.
As a college student I faced many choices, most of which were very different from my high school experience, some of them are listed below: What do you think??
High School: In high school, you know everyone in your class. College: In college, you’re lucky to know one person in your class.
High School High school books are provided are little to no cost. College: College textbooks cost a small fortune.
High School: You have to live with your parents in high school. College: You get to live with your friends in college.
High School: You wake up early in the morning for class in high school. College: You wake up for your first class (or whenever you want).
High School: In high school, you were forced to learn all subjects. College: In college, you get to learn whatever you want to.
High School: In high school, your time and schedule are dictated by others. College: In college, you take back ownership of time management.
High School: In high school, teachers read from the textbooks they use. College: In college, professors refer to the textbooks they wrote.
High School: In high school, you studied comfortably at home before a test. College: In college, the library becomes your home away from home.
High School: In high school, you wrote notes to friends. College: In college, you take notes for yourself.
High School: In high school, you’re able finish all your homework in one night. College: In college, that’s a near-to-impossible feat.
High School: In high school, you have a full day of classes. College: In college, you plan your schedule to your liking.
High School: In high school, you’re stuck with a set social hierarchy. College: In college, you get to choose who you spend time around.
High School: In high school, assigned reading means a night off from homework. College: In college, you actually need to do the reading – and it takes all night.
High School: In high school, everyone is required to be there. College: In college, everyone wants to be there.
High School: In high school, you worried about what “looked” cool. College: In college, you’re too busy to care about what other people think.
High School: In high school, you’re stuck in a social “role” that others cast you in. College: In college, you can be whoever you want to be.
High School: In high school, you have adults telling you what’s expected of you. College: In college, it’s just expected.
High School: In high school, teachers gear classes towards average learners. College: In college, average is the bare (emphasis on bare) minimum.
High School: High school attendance is mandatory. College: College attendance is (strongly) suggested.
High School: In high school, you had a curfew you had to follow. College: In college, you use your own judgment for what you have time to do
Reference: 20 Differences between High School & College Life
By Elizabeth Hoyt from the www.niche.com website, March 28, 2017
A small town girl attending a large urban university setting and getting out into the world for the first time. Some of the emotions I experienced were fear, anxiety and excitement about all the new possibilities. I remember leaving my high school classroom of 24 students and listening to a psychology lecture with 500 students. Talk about culture shock it seemed like I had landed on another planet. The college experience is very different for a first generation college student who can not ask parents for information and the parents can’t relate because they don’t have the experience. First time college students often have trouble making the transition to college life. It is important for them to immediately get involved, become familiar with the campus, and make new social connections. The transition can be made easier by more frequent on and off campus simulations of what college is really like.