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College Bound 2012
by Elizabeth Horner
The end of this school year is almost here. I feel honored to be
asked to be the flag bearer in this year’s GSH commencement.
Somehow, at this time of the year, I find the after effect of stopping
and reflecting on the things that have happened during the school year
soothing, especially after my mind is content with the plan I have for
the next leg of my academic journey. Next year, I will know for
certain which college(s) has/have accepted me but right now, it is hard
to imagine the amount of time I spend in college preparation related
activities.
There was P-ACT and P-SAT tests, then ACT with Writing and SAT
plus subject tests. I have completed the list of the schools I
want to send an application to which required a lot of research and
preparatory communication, to come up with this list. If you want
to apply to a competitive school, I urge my peers to start preparing
now. If I apply to all 12 universities that are in my list, it is
going to cost my parents a lot of money, since one application is
around $65 - $75 dollars, plus $10 for each school to receive a copy of
each test score. There is a fee waiver in most of the colleges if one
needs financial assistance. And as soon as the school opens in the
fall, I will be bugging some teachers and my school counselor for
letters of recommendations. There will be essays to write and my
personnel profile to prepare. There will be interviews and
completing forms, most of them due no later than November.
But part of my reflections this year is not just about my college
choices but also making some sort of resolution for the future in other
aspects in my life. Humans have free will which allows us to make
our own choices and… our own mistakes. Sometimes things get tangled up,
but I believe that as long as I learn the right lessons from those
mishaps, it could actually be beneficial to my future. Mistakes
sometimes make one a better and stronger person, and allow you to glean
insights and wisdom otherwise unavailable to you I think it
is very important for us, yours sons and daughters, to learn to mull
over on what we have done well, as well as what we have failed to do.
If
you have read some of my previous articles, you know that I am a young
person with lofty ambitions who has set her eyes on an Ivy League
School. With that comes commitment to invest my time in
activities that will get me there. I understand the effort and
responsibilities my dreams weigh upon me, but it is something I
honestly want to pursue, and am working hard to achieve. This is
something that I've been thinking and researching about since fifth
grade, after an essay in my language arts class lead me to thinking
about college education. Having visited several of their
campuses, I am more assured than ever that my dreams are worth fighting
for! While academic performance is an important part of the
requirements, it is not all about grades. It is equally important
how I can demonstrate that I have the potential to effect change --- to
make a difference. The best way I know how to do this is to share
with others what worked and did not work for me as a student and as a
youth preparing to take my place in the world of adults. I am
exerting my best effort to do that primarily through using the power of
the pen, writing articles. I hope that you will visit my pages. I
am now a syndicated columnist with Global Nation, Inquirer.Net; Mega
Scene; Asean Tribune and of course, I will continue to write for our
local newspapers if they welcome this young voice. I have also
agreed to lead Darke County's Teen Scribes.
I
have mentioned this in my previous article, but I like repeating
it. When I was a library aid at Greenville Junior High, in
Greenville, Ohio, there was this quote on the wall that I read
frequently --- and the words engraved themselves into my brain, "Shoot
for the moon. Even if you miss it, you will land among the stars"
by Les Brown. I think kids are like seeds. We do need
some nurturing and the right environment to increase our odds of
sprouting beautifully. And even if we miss the target, there is
also the chance that we may even go further and achieve something
greater that what was originally aspired for. I hope that this
community will continue to support us. Good school, good
education is important to our growth!
Even if I don't make it to that university of my dreams, please be
assured, I will not be devastated. I believe that there is more than
one path to a destination. Still, I am going to try ---- and I think
that kids should have the opportunity to pursue what they want out of
life, guided by the kind wisdom and reassuring hands of adults of this
community. And I will not forget my promise to return home, to
give back to this community --- to do my part as an adult to help your
grandsons and grand-daughters get ready to take their place in society!
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