Community College: The First Year

Since graduating from Dublin High School with the Class of 2012, I have been attending Las Positas College. With finals week coming up, and thus marking the successful completion of my first year of college, I find myself eager to share this first year experience with the rest of the Dublin community. 

The transition from high school to college has certainly been a learning experience in and of itself. I have learned to tackle many more responsibilities related to my schoolwork and personal life, primarily concerning how to juggle the two. I have taken the appropriate steps in laying out my priorities and, at the end of the day, I find that this will prepare me in the long run for the additional responsibilities that will come my way as I eventually transition from the college classroom to a satisfying career. 

One particular aspect that has surprisingly proven itself difficult for me would have to be choosing a major. I went into college thinking I would be majoring in Business Administration. After I found myself drifting away from this, I bounced back and forth between various majors until I came to the one that I am confident I will stick with: Liberal Arts. I am going to become an elementary school teacher. I had known for a few years that I wanted to go into education, but it was not until I took a good look at all of my other options when I realized that I truly wanted to become a teacher. Coming to this final decision has certainly taken some of the weight off of my shoulders as I feel as though I have not only grasped a steady plan of what my next few years of college will be like, but also taken on a career for which I have a genuine passion. 

Even through the long nights of studying, I have grown even more appreciative of my education within this first year. Every day, I manage to learn something fascinating and absorb it not for the sake of earning an A on the test (though that is always nice), but because making the most of my classes, even for the subjects I do not necessarily like, has allowed me to sharpen my knowledge across all aspects of my education. 

Though I have merely scratched the surface of a few important aspects of college life, I hope I have helped paint the larger picture of what I as well as many other students have to contribute to the wide variety of experiences in college.