I would be a liar if I told you that my educational journey has been easy. I have always been at the top of my class and I was very involved in extracurricular activities. From the moment I entered high school, it seemed that I would be destined to head to university.
Being a naïve 18 year old, I attended university straight out of high school. I studied a variety of courses and was mildly successful. Unlike high school, I had to work really hard and the learning did not come naturally to me. This sent me for a loop and I felt lost and confused. I knew I wasn’t stupid – but I also knew that this program was not for me. School wasn’t fun anymore.
This is when I discovered a whole new world – college. I learned that the class sizes were much smaller and that hands-on learning was an option. This was not my experience at university and I missed that the most. College was something that I had never explored. No one talked to me about college – university was the path.
I’m not here to bash university but I am trying to open the eyes of other youth in a similar situation to mine. Looking at all options is a necessary step so that you can take advantage of all the opportunities available to you.
Figuring out what you’re going to do when you leave high school is no easy task! My best advice would be to follow your heart along with your head and take a look at all options available to you. When they don’t match – take a breath and re-evaluate your priorities and what you want at the end of the day. After all, it’s your future and you’re worth investing in.
This is such an important topic. I have two kids at Queen's right now and I am constantly comparing their experience with what I see at SLC. One of them is contemplating doing college AFTER Uni, almost as 'finishing school'. If you have ideas about how we can better position the college experience, let's chat. I can see this being an amazing leadership project for you next term. You would be a very impressive ambassador. Thanks!
ReplyDelete