College Is Unlike High School

March 2, 2012 /

By GIBRAN ‘GIBZ’ MONCAYO/South Kern Sol

My first semester at Bakersfield College as a college freshman at Bakersfield College was very challenging for me to start my ‘college life’ the correct way.

Being an ‘average’ student at Arvin High School and graduating with a GPA slightly higher than 2.5, I was the student, ‘who TRIES to complete his homework and turns it in on time.’ For me, it always seemed irrelevant to me how homework could help you remember things. Don’t get me wrong, it’s helpful to take notes and write thing down the night before a huge test, quiz or to remember important rules for grammar or for mathematical equations.

The transition from high school to college is a very huge and hard transition for many people. For the lucky ones, it flies by like if it were nothing. But even though it’s hard that does not mean we should give up or at least I wouldn’t. I always try hard in class to pass it with the best grade possible. That task is easier said than down, since procrastination has been my partner in crime.

AH! Procrastination, oh how I’ve had a bittersweet relationship with you. It’s certainly not a good habit to have, but it has kept me very relaxed and calm when it comes to doing homework, reports or projects. This is something that puts a huge strain on my grade and mental well-being as well. It’s a daily battle I have with class and homework in college. Since a large percent of your grade is based on the homework the professor has assigned. It’s not in high school where you ask for an extension or get an easy way out of things. It’s either due that day or your grade suffers for it. Since I have always left doing work until the very last minute, life can be quite stressful sometimes.

When teachers tell you, ‘”enjoy high school, if you think this is the hardest part of your life you are mistaken, if anything this is the easiest part of your life, so enjoy it for as long as you can.” Believe them!  We don’t believe them because we take for granted the time we do have and the things we don’t pay for such as books or bills. Once you hit college things get complicated, you are mostly broke for the most part, especially, if you live on your own. You can also live life day-by-day and/or paycheck to paycheck. At the campus bookstore I got a rude awakening. It was my first time actually paying for all my school supplies including books, pencils, pens and Scantrons needed for tests. Everything that you do in class impacts your grade, where it matters the most. I mean, we get good grades in high school to get into colleges that we’ve dreamt about. But in college your fighting to get into the profession you want and it all depends on your grades. Like in high school, where if you fail you can retake it, but in college you have to pay for it out your own pocket. It is more than just a class or a grade now. It’s your life and future as I see it.

According to 2004 Pew Hispanic Center study 77 percent of Latino students said tuition was an obstacle to higher education. Also in the same study 77 percent of Latinos needed to work to pay for college.

Now that I’m in college there’s no more playing basketball or having the opportunity to get a feel of a court before class begins or ends. Now it’s only rush in the morning to get to class, head to the next one and so forth. Yes, there’s time to socialize but it’s not as much as it used to be which something that’s hard to let go of. I don’t see all my friends because we have either different schedules or they have left to another city or go to CSUB. It’s like almost losing all communication with them unless you have their number or Facebook because life is too busy to actually hang out.

However, I’ll still try and give everything toward my education. It’s my future and profession, since I want to become a registered nurse.

 

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