planning for the future

By Selina Tran

For all the young adults who are still in school, have you thought about what you wanted to do after high school? What is your next step in life?

For some people, they may want to go straight to a four-year college right after graduation, while others may want to take a break from school to figure things out or to focus on their personal life first. Some might even come to the conclusion that school isn’t for them and decide to not go to college.

But, if you’ve thought about going to college or want to go, what do you imagine it to be like?

As I’m currently writing this, I am a senior in high school, which means it’s my last year and I’ll be graduating soon. I plan to go to a four year college after graduating, so I asked a few people who’ve gone to college themselves about their experiences.

Going to college is a major step into adulthood and everyone’s college experience is different. But, it is optional and may not be meant for everyone.

Before you get to experience what college is like, there are steps you must take. To get into a college, you need to fill out college applications and financial aid forms, which helps pay for college expenses, then wait to get accepted.

In college, you’re required to be in a major. What you major in can help with training for your future career choice or for personal fulfillment. However, some people may still be undecided.

Yerba Buena High School counselor, Sayako Uchida said, “I went to college as an undeclared major and when I was doing college applications, I was undeclared for every college I applied to.” She had no idea what she wanted to do when she started out in college.

She continued, “I didn’t decide on my major until the beginning of junior year because that was the absolute latest you can pick.”

How Mrs. Uchida came to choose her major was taking a Japanese class which she loved, so she kept taking the class. Her other major, which she also fell in love with after her first class, was Asian American Studies, and continued taking more of that class too. “Taking that one class really sparked my interest,” she said.

Dr. O’Wren, my ERWC teacher, also had no idea and was undecided. “No one really talked to me about college as a viable future, no one ever really talked to me about having a future. And so, in my case, I stumbled into what I wanted to do.” Not many people have the same case as Dr. O’Wren.

Dr. O’Wren had a similar experience to Mrs. Uchida when choosing his major. The event that led Dr. O’Wren in choosing his major is that he had an amazing professor and just from his class, he knew it was what he wanted. He admitted, “I knew that this was what I wanted to do, I knew that I was good at it.”

When it comes to choosing what you want to do in life, some people know what they want to do, while it can take a little bit longer for others. The process of discovering yourself, the world, and your place in it takes time.

In many ways, college is very different from high school. It is full of opportunities to meet new people and experience new things.

For Mrs. Uchida, “College is different because you have to live on campus, so you're completely away from your family. You have to learn how to balance your time given all the independence that you have. College is different because you get to pick what you want to study, you get to focus on your major.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Pope, my US Government/Econ teacher said, “It’s quite different, you’re completely on your own. In high school, there’s a lot of hand holding, checking in on, and you’re forced to attend classes. College is different, if you go or don’t go, nobody is really going to care. But, if you don’t go to class, you’d probably fail. Nobody will remind you to do your work.”

Classes in college are also different compared to high school and instead of having teachers, professors teach the class.

Mrs. Uchida said, “All my classrooms were big. The professor would be at the front of the class teaching and students were in a theatre taking notes.”

Class sizes differ based on how many students there are taking that class. “My school had small classes. There were 20-30 students per class, so we had lots of discussions,” Dr. Pope said.

Another way college is different from high school is that if you’re late for a class, you won’t be allowed to enter the classroom: “The professors were serious and ready to give some knowledge. Some of them didn’t let students come in if they were late, so they were quite strict,” said Maxim, a 19 year-old college student.

There are times when college can be very stressful and hectic, so it’s important to know how to manage your time and schedule. A way you can keep track of assignments and important dates, such as deadlines is to have a calendar or notebook.

During these times, it’s also important to prioritize your physical and mental health. When It Comes to College, If Only… from The New York Times suggests, “Be kind and supportive to yourself, it’s okay to make mistakes along the way.”

But, it may not come easy for some students, since they can be bad at time management. “I was bad at managing my time at first. You have to make tough decisions and tough choices. You have to take things seriously to be successful,” said Dr. O’Wren.

Entering a new campus and environment can either be thrilling, horrifying, or both for many students. There are so many new people that you don’t know and new places to explore. Figuring your way around an unfamiliar place is never easy.

“I was really happy, it was fun to be in college. It was great, being away from home and on my own,” said Dr. Pope.

There are things people wish they knew before doing something and going to college is one of those things.

Dr. Pope’s advice is, “Being smart is not enough in college, you also have to study hard and focus. Your studies have to be a priority. When you make them a priority, then your opportunities after college are a lot greater.”

Dr. O’Wren wished he knew how many amazing people he was going to meet in college. “I wished I knew how amazing and really enlightening college can be, how many fantastic teachers and great friends you’ll run into.”

But, on the other side, “Having a degree doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get a job,” said Dr. O’Wren.

There are some things you can experience only in college, so it’s important to make the most out of it.

“When you’re 18, you’re a young adult and you’ll only be a young adult for so long in college, you have to enjoy this very important time of your life. But, at the same time, make sure that you’re also doing all the hard work you need to do to ensure a successful future,” said Dr. Pope.

People will begin to wonder what life is going to be like after college and what they want to do. According to Making the Most of Your College Experience by Carolyn Duvigneaud Thomas, “For most, the end of a college degree is to begin a career.”

“I was just hoping to have a life where I was doing some sort of job I love where I was working with people and where I had a job that could help pay for the lifestyle I wanted,” said Mrs. Uchida.

We don’t know how the future will turn out, but everyone has their own dreams and goals they want to accomplish in life. It’s about whether or not they’ll put in the work to achieve it. College will not teach you everything you need to know. It simply prepares you for the real world.