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Community Corner

My Independence Day is Coming Soon

A recent high school graduate can see college on the horizon.

Monday was July Fourth, Independence Day. But instead of breaking away from the British, I am going to be breaking away from my family in a little over a month and a half. It feels like it’s fairly far away, but still, I’m nervous and excited.

I did just finish my summer human biology class. I am very happy that I will be going into college with most of my general classes already done. I will not have to do any science or math classes. Hopefully, I just have classes that I enjoy or at least ones that interest me.

What interests me most about college is that it is me deciding my direction. I get to pick everything—my classes, my schedule, my food, my friends. Everything. I’m very curious to see how I handle all the responsibility.

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I am also doing more college classes during the summer. This is a plan that my parents and I agree is for the best. I am liking how college classes are run. There is less busywork. A lot of it is you doing whatever you need to learn, independent study. If all you need is to listen to the lectures and take notes, fine. If you need to make flashcards, and color code your notes with a rainbow of highlighters, and tape record the lectures, and buy/borrow four textbooks, well, do what you need to do. I also like how there seems to be less “memorize this list of facts and these charts for the test” and more thinking and applications. The tests have depth to them.

The part of independence I’m not looking forward to is the part no one enjoys. The bills. Several of my older friends have said, “You don’t need college.” Or, “I went to college, don’t go to college.” I’m not sure how much they were joking. I believe I am going to college to learn skills and build a network so I can go into my field of interest and earn a living while hopefully enjoying what I do. I guess I don’t see that happening without college. There are countless studies saying that people who go through college earn more and are better off. I want to be one of those better off people.

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