The Decision That Changed Me
The decisions we make throughout life can have an impact on our future, directly or indirectly. When things do not always go your way, you can learn from these experiences and grow as a person. It will not be easy, but eventually with time things will improve. All the hard times really make a person cherish all the good times. Saying this, I wanted to do something a little more personal for my final paper. The environment has a certain pull on everyone's' lives whether they realize it or not. This paper expresses how the environment of Illinois College has changed my life. I am also including a poem that I composed recently after events that have occurred in my life. I am hoping that my readers will relate to and understand where I am coming from. I am especially directing to this to my peers, as well as the future generations at Illinois College.
Someday
As I lay here at night,
thoughts swirling through my head.
Is this the beginning, or the inevitable end?
Clouded mind, what to do?
I close my eyes and all I see is you.
Thoughts racing, heart aching
Dreams fading, tears trailing.
Maybe someday you will see what I see,
feel what I feel.
Maybe you too will dream the same dream.
Until that time comes I will stand tall
waiting,
hoping,
dreaming.
I will go on.
College. That one word alone sent shivers down my spine senior year of high school. The fear was almost overwhelming that summer as I prepared to leave the comfort of my home, and go off to college. I had a clear picture of what I thought college would be like. The giant campus would consume me with tall, brick buildings and rude people scurrying like rodents along the endless gray sidewalks. How wo...
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... Although this is my senior year, it is not the end for me. I have one more semester before student teaching. Looking back on freshman year until the present, I have so many memories of friends I have made, people I have met, classes, and all the ups and downs that come along with college life. As I sit here at my computer, I ask myself, “If I could change anything about my life, would I?” To answer this question, I will end with this: No class in the world could teach me the lessons that I have learned this far in college. Professors do not teach, How To Recover From a Broken Heart 101 or How To Drive Your Roommate Crazy. These things are learned through experience and learning from your mistakes. I truly would not change a thing because only the bad experiences make you stronger, and all the good things allow you to look forward to what is yet to come.
In Paul Toughmay’s “Who Gets to Graduate,” he follows a young first year college student, Vanessa Brewer, explaining her doubts, fears, and emotions while starting her college journey. As a student, at the University of Texas Brewer feels small and as if she doesn’t belong. Seeking advice from her family she calls her mom but after their conversation Brewer feels even more discouraged. Similar to Brewer I have had extreme emotions, doubts, and fears my freshman year in college.
I would always have more than enough time to excel in my studies as I breezed through the semester with exceptional grades. As the second semester rolled around, it got me thinking that I was not too happy about the way I went about the first term. I promised myself that I would become active in social groups and put myself out there. I am currently midway through my second semester and wow has my life changed for the better. I have associated myself with a fraternity, met more people and have been genuinely happy with the social aspect of life.
The start if college is like the end of one’s childhood. Yet I had no intension of letting that go when I woke up yesterday at 7:00 am. Still, like high school, my mom dropped me off and picked me up; copping almost the exact same routine from the four years I spent in high school. Just as I thought this ought to be the easiest way of transportation, my mom proved me wrong once we reached the University of Washington’s parking lot.
A lot of people search through life trying to find something that means something to them, something life changing. I experienced my life-changing event when I was 3 years old. I was in a terrible car accident. Realistically, being 3, I do not really remember what all happened – I remember a few details though, the feeling, the pain, and my parents reactions. Their reactions were crucial in the development of my realization of this life-changing event. All through my life I grew up with this crazy thing that had happened in the past and all I had were my parents’ recollections on the events that occurred. But, youth is just kind of weird like that – you tend to hear more about what you experienced than actually remembering it. My parents really
When attaining a college degree, many of the obstacles and events people experience help them develop a wider perspective of the world and discover different ways to solve emerging problems. Events such as the experience one has to go through when meeting new people or attempting to cope with the new environment form a sense of diversity and quick
I nervously opened the doors to my future, hoping for the best for myself. At first, I believed departing to class would be simple, but when the bell rang for the first time I had no idea what class room goes where and how busy the halls were going to be. Suddenly, the entire world around me scrambled to class, and on occasions bumping each other along the way; it was a widespread panic for most of the freshmen. Fortunately, I found some wonderful teachers to direct me to my rooms that I will spend the next year
To think that my first semester of college will be over this friday makes me realize how fast time flies. The first few weeks of college were tough, tiring and full of anxiety. Being in a new environment, a different state and not knowing one single person was something that I did not prepare myself for. Throughout all of the tears and the frustrations, I had to constantly remind myself that I am at The University of Akron to gain an education and become a successful individual.
Going into freshman year of high school was something that hit me unexpectedly. I couldn’t believe that 4 years from then I would be graduating. To me it seemed like an eternity of course, as if I had all the time in the galaxy to relax before things would become more profound such as grades, time management skills, and independence.
I made the decision to come to Baylor early in 1999 while my freshman year was still in session. At first, people thought I was joking about leaving, but when I persisted in telling them, they had no choice but to accept my decision. I had spent most of my life with some of these people, while some I had known for less than a year. I didn't think about that in the beginning. At first I was excited to go, but about the time of this party, the anxiety of leaving hit me like a sledgehammer. The party was August 10th. I left for Baylor ten days later on August 20th. Those ten days were some of the most anxious of my entire life. Was I willing to give up my happy existence to step into an unknown world of doubt? Well, as you may have guessed, since I am writing this paper, I was willing to take that chance. The question of whether it was worth it or not has yet to be answered.
Throughout life we come across many people, some who influence us in negative ways, and those who influence in good ways, often changing our complete outlook on life. For me, it took the struggle of one of my best friends to open my eyes. I only wish it wasn't too late to thank her.
“An Event Which Changed My Life” An Event which changed my life, well when, I think back on my life there’s Many changes for the good and some were bad but, there were some learning experiences that help make me a better person. The events in my life, was dealing with the Birth and The Death of my first daughter. The First, Event was the birth of my first daughter it, was a joyous event in my life.
Some memories are best forgotten, but it takes courage to go through them. Often, I wish to forget the day when I almost lost my parents in a tragic car accident. As my world came crumbling down, I prayed and hoped that the nightmare would soon end. I endlessly fought the sense of helplessness, isolation and fear of the uncertainty. I was 19 and clueless. Nevertheless, I sailed through these dreadful days and welcomed my parents home after six long months. In the months that followed my parent’s return, I juggled between taking care of my parents, graduating college and adjusting to my new job. Almost 10 years later, this dark phase still has a phenomenal impact on me. Perhaps, because this specific experience transformed me into a grateful,
But consider this question for a moment: what is your single biggest regret from the past four years? If you could go back in time and change one thing, what would it be? I asked Ms. Parks to pose this question to two classes full of Seniors and I have here some responses. For those of you who answered, thank you very much for your honest and thoughtfulness.
As I reach the seemingly boring age of 19, I am able to look back and reflect on how my choices in the past have gotten me to where I am today. One of the most significant decisions I have made in my life was to minimize my friend group. Now, losing friends is something you hear about before you even hit junior high. The common phrase is repeated over and over again, when referring to high school, “You find out who your real friends are.” As a scrawny little freshman, with no sense of reality, I refused to believe that that phrase would ever apply to my life. The end of my sophomore year is when my then, sixteen-year-old self, realized that that overused phrase was more relevant to my life than I wanted it to be. So I did something about it.
Having spent twelve years of my school life in just one small red brick building, the years tend to fade into each other. But the year I remember most clearly and significantly is my senior year of high school, where I finally began to appreciate what this institution offered to any student who stopped to look. Before, school had been a chore, many times I simply did not feel motivated toward a subject enough to do the homework well, and seeing the same familiar faces around ever since I was 5 years old grew very tiring soon enough. But I began to see things from a different angle once I became a senior.