High School And College Essay, Research Paper

It’s all up to you It’s all over now. No more strict teachers, no more guidance

counselors that tell you what is best for you, no more restrictions; this all

happens when you graduate high school. Once you throw that cap in the air, you

begin a new stage in your life that will carry out for the rest of your future.

In college, you are now becoming an individual and now you are responsible for

you own actions. High school and college are very different and as incoming

freshmen, you think that it’s the same but the work is much harder. Well let’s

get this myth straightened out. The capacity of work does get much harder, but

other things come along with the experience of college. Freedom is one of the

biggest privileges that are given to you as a college student, and now it’s up

to you do know what to do with it. No one will be there to tell you what you

have to do, whether or not you go to class, whether or not you are on time; it’s

all up to you. You are thinking, "well that’s great", but what you

don’t realize is that for all of your actions there will be a consequence. As

freshmen, you are vulnerable to the evils of freedom. This is when prioritizing

comes in handy. You must realize what is important and what’s not. The first

thing you should have in mind is academics. Then the rest follows. In high

school teachers were always behind your back and telling you what you had to do.

They reminded you when an assignment was due and if you didn’t do it than they

would call your parents. They would extend their helping hand so you could do

well in their course. They would go that extra mile for you. They never let you

give up and they always believed that you could achieve the goals of the class.

They gave you support and if you asked for help they wouldn’t deny you it. This

is what you are giving up and freedom is what you are getting in return. In

college it changes in a dramatic way. You lose teachers and gain professors. The

first day of class the professor hands out a syllabus. By doing this, the

professor eliminates all the doubts and possible excuse that a student might

give. "The homework is due today, I thought it was due on Friday", you

will never use this excuse because it is clearly stated on the syllabus. You as

the student know what is ahead and must be ready to handle a course that is

demanding. You are responsible to make sure that everything is handed in on

time. Professors don’t attach themselves to the pupil and this is one of the

differences between a professor and a teacher. During high school you had to be

at school at a certain time or you would have to face punishments such as

detention. If you didn’t go to class or school they would call your parents and

tell them that you absent. In my high school they would mail out every month how

many cuts or skips we had in all of our classes. If you had more than a certain

number of absences, you would lose credit in that class. Everything was very

strict and regulated. You are the one who chooses what is best for you while you

are attending college. It’s up to you if you go to class or whether you are on

time. If you do you work, or if you skip class or if you study, these are all

your choices. Most colleges don’t keep attendance. If you don’t go to class, you

are the one missing out on the lesson not the professor. He doesn’t care as long

as you do what you have to do in order to survive in his class. The professor

will not become irate with himself because of your childish manners. It’s up to

you to show that your parents, school, and anyone that has surrounded you has

shown you what an etiquette behavior is. Here is when prioritizing comes in

hand. First you have to realize that the reason you are attending college is to

further you education. Also, you are paying for a higher learning education so

you must take full advantage of it. Therefore you must keep up your grades and

maintain a good overall grade point average. Going to class is very important

because this is the place that all of the learning takes place. If you are not

there in class then what do you get out of it? College life means social life

because now you are figuring out what kind of person you are and who you want to

become. Hanging out with friends, going to the club/bar, going to play pool, all

seem very important in your college life, but here is where you make the

decision. One solution that I usually use is that first I finish all the work

that needs to be done then I go out and dance until my feet fall off. As I come

towards the ending of my freshmen year I must say that I have done well in all

aspects. I now know that college means hard work and freedom. Put these two

together and you have a problem if you don’t find a way to separate these two

and realize which one is important. I don’t mean giving one up, I just mean

knowing when to work and when to have fun. You can’t let these overlap. The

first thing in your mind should be academics because this is going to take you

the road of success and glory, so take care.