Considering your options

I often wish that I had listened to my school counselor’s advice when figuring out what to do after high school. It was suggested to me that I might be most comfortable pursuing my post-secondary endeavors at a community college. It certainly was something that was feasible, given that there was a two-year institution five minutes away from my hometown. I had several options when it came to the first two years of my college education but, despite my counselor’s advice, I decided to go straight into a four-year university after I graduated high school.

I decided to pursue an undergraduate degree at the University of Arizona. As I progressed through my undergraduate curriculum, I took a handful of courses through the distance learning option. These courses weren’t necessarily difficult — I took some general education requirements and a few creative writing opportunities — but I still found myself struggling and soon enough I had fallen behind on my curriculum. 

As I look back, I wonder if it would have taken me so many years to obtain my bachelor’s degree in Sociology if I had taken a different path. Perhaps I pushed myself too hard to excel at University courses when I could have pursued the same curriculum at a community college within the comfort zone of my hometown. Maybe I would have not have felt this same burden of student loans, heavy burdens that constantly remind me of my feverish struggles to work towards my bachelor’s degree.

If I could offer up any advice to students it would be this: sometimes taking a baby step from high school to a four-year college is necessary. Consider your options when it comes to your post-graduate plans and know that making the transition at a community college can sometimes be the best choice for you.