When I grow up I wanna be...

I work in the enrollment department of my school - basically I just file and put together packets for all my school's potential students.  It always reminds me of the days when I was applying to colleges.  Quite honestly, I wish I would have done a better job on my applications.  I remember how stressed I got at writing the endless entrance essays and how I just wished it was over already!  But when I really think about it, applying for a college is quite possibly the biggest decision of your life.  College is where you get your education which leads to your career.  How awesome a first job you score all depends on how good of a school you attend.  College is also where you meet some of your life-long friends.  It's where you start really growing into who you will be the rest of your life.  Decisions that you make in college affect your entire future.  How's all that laying on an 18 year-old high school senior's mind?

Also, I believe that seniors in high school need to be reminded that they still have a lot of learning and growing to do.  I know when I was told that I hated it.  Graduating high school seems like a big deal...until it's over.  There's so much left to life (and I know that there's a lot left to mine too!).  I feel that, coming from a public school system, schools need to emphasize life after high school a lot more.  They do make you take classes where you have to say what you want to be when you grow up, but how do you really know at 16 what you want to do?  I think that they should focus on growing and finding more out about oneself and one's beliefs.  By the time students graduate, they should have some direction, but what they really need is to understand themselves, their own needs and wants.  I realize that a lot of this may be wrong and maybe college only seems like the hugest thing in my life because I'm living it now (kind of like how high school felt really important).  We'll see!