Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder

My second semester went a little more smoothly than my first semester because I knew where all the building were and I made friends in some of my classes. I lost focus in school because I started dating someone and I decided that they would be my first priority instead of my education. I started partying every night and missing classes because I was too tired because I was out until five or six in the morning. School was my number one priority but I put it on the back burner because I thought hanging out with friend was more important. I finished off my second semester at UCA with one A, two B’s, and one C. My last semester at UCA I did not put forth any effort.

I had many decorations and medals that boasted my achievements of scholarship, integrity, loyalty, and leadership ability. It seemed that I was almost destined to become a United States Soldier. School was an easy thing for me, I floated through courses and could have graduated a year early but didn’t cause I wanted to walk with my class. I had lots of things going for me even applying to West Point Military Academy. Unfortunately I never was accepted to at... ... middle of paper ... ... later I received a call from the same recruiter, “Chris, guess what?

Having no real involvement in anything, I did not think for a second that I would be accepted, but, regardless, I applied, and two months later I received a call from that same man who told me I had been accepted. I was a big reluctant and indecisive about going because, aside from the fun and games, there was government learning and marching involved. I decided to go, and will never regret that decision. The experience there changed my views in so many ways. I met so many new people, greatly strengthened my skills in leadership, and I realized I had the potential to not only dream about my goals, but to live them as well.

Although I was a different person in high school, it is possible for people to truly change if they put their mind to it. In high school, I really did not care about my grades. My attendance was awful, skipping too many classes to count. I barely managed to pull off a 3.0 GPA by the end of my senior year. When I came to college, I knew grades were important but I did not realize how challenging it was to get above a 3.0 in college.

This epiphany was brought to light by my roommates. I live with two National Guardsman who both have degrees and successful careers. They helped me realize that I needed to go back to school, that I had gotten about as far in life as possible without a good degree to be added to my resume. I had gone to Centura College in Virginia Beach a few years ago, applied at Tidewater Community College (TCC) and completed the placement test, but never went through with process. Every time I went to see advisors, classes and degrees were explained, schedules discussed, funding and timelines also addressed, but after leaving the advisors office I was overwhelmed by the data dump that I just dropped the efforts and gave up.

I wanted to join the military so I took the ASVAB but I was not confident enough in my ability to make it through basic training so I gave up the idea. I wanted to be an architect so I applied for admission to the CAD program at ITT Technical Institute and was accepted. I was scheduled to start classes on June 12, 1989, but deep down what I truly wanted was to a wife and mother and the idea of getting out of Rantoul, Illinois did not hurt either. My unspoken desire came to the fore when I met my future husband in January of 1989. We were married on June 10, 1989, four days after my high school graduation and two days before I w... ... middle of paper ... ...ke the road less traveled by.

For the citizens, lectures were not only an educational experience, it was also considered a form of ... ... middle of paper ... ...s, so, basically it is up to us to make that change. Now, I’m not talking about a revolt, at least not in the traditional sense. I suggest jumping the track and exploring what is out there in the world before deciding what you want to do for the rest of your life. This is what I had to figure out for my self. When I was a freshman majoring in business, and I was miserable because I had no interest in the classes I was taking, so I dropped out.

When I would talk to people about my underlying want they would always disregard it and say stick your original plan. As a junior it what mandatory to take the ASVAB, I tried somewhat on the test, not my best but I tried some, the scores came back and somehow I scored a 70. This score made me question myself even more about my military options, but I disregarded it after a while. This last week though showed me that maybe I should follow my true dream. Though this dream was not and is not fully complete at the moment, I have a new plan that I hope it makes me

I really had my heart set on going out of state, but as my letters rolled in, it became more apparent that I was staying in the Lone Star State. I was a good student at a very academically challenging school, I had C's and B's, a fair SAT score. But that wasn't enough to get me into UCLA, or enough to get me into UT without going through provisionals. So I decided, to waste a summer of seeing friends before we all left for school by not going to Austin after graduation and going to provisional.

I Screwed Up! High school is a strange time. After three years of trying to develop identity and friends in middle school, students are expected to mature immediately on the first day of ninth grade, but I never did this. I never fully realized in the earlier grades how important high school success, as measured by GPA, would be to my future life, and as a result I am applying to college with seemingly contradictory measures of my ability to perform college-level work. If I had worked and studied hard rather than hanging out with friends and viewing high school as an opportunity to socialize, I would not have to apply to school with a 1300 SAT and a 2.7 GPA.