Personal Narrative: The Culture Of Community College

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Qui Memores Estis or The Misfits
I must confess that I never intended to attend a community college. Whenever my mother suggested the idea of my living at home and commuting to Ivy Tech, I wrinkled my nose at her and said that I wanted to go to a four-year university. I longed to stretch my wings and experience the tradition of “going away to school,” forging new friendships, and embarking on new adventures. Well, I did all that…at community college. It is only now that I am on the verge of graduating from an establishment I once resisted attending that I realize the purpose behind education, the flaws inherent in the stereotype of community college, how the culture of community college helped shape my identity, and how the best colleges treat …show more content…

The single parents, the book nerds, the computer geeks, the goths, the cheerleaders, the jocks, the artists, the decided majors, and the undecided majors: students of every type, category, and creed, we take them all. In short, we are the misfits: an oddball collection of students whose backgrounds, interests, and abilities vary as much as our individual motivations for entering a junior level …show more content…

The primary reason most students choose community college over a university is that it is financially feasible, not that students are unprepared academically. In my case, I chose community college to acclimate myself socially to college life. This is true for many students and is well-explained using the dandelion-orchid hypothesis. Some students can thrive in almost any environment just like dandelions, while their orchid counterparts require a little more care to flourish. For students who need a bridge between high school and higher education, the intimacy of community college acts as a wonderful

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