There are many things that I will miss from my high school experience. Growing up in a
small town definitely makes high school life a lot easier to adjust to, which makes college an
even harder change. The one big thing that I am excited about leaving behind from my high
school is the amount of people that care what you are doing with yourself. In my high school, if
you had something going on in your life, almost everyone else knew about it too. I’m excited to
be in a place where everyone is working towards their own degree, and they don’t really have
the time or the care to mind about anyone else’s business. Another thing that I am looking
forward to leaving behind is having a full day of five classes every day of the week. I like how
the structure of the classes at college give students time to go to class but also have some
breaks in between. It might make it more difficult for me because I do have some problems
keeping myself motivated when it’s all up to me. However, I think that figuring out how to force
myself to stay motivated is going to help with many skills later in my career. The last major
thing I am excited about leaving behind is that being involved in activities at my high school was
rare. There wasn’t a large amount of afterschool activities available at my small-town high
school, but the few that were offered were fairly small. After coming to Hays, I see how
important it is for students to be as involved as possible and I am excited to explore the
different organizations available.
Coming to Fort Hays, there were many things that I was excited about. The biggest thing
that I am looking forward to is meeting new people and growing new connections. After only a
week at Hays, I have already formed many new connections that I know will be able to last me
for a while. I also had many friends from high school that also are now at Hays with me, and I
think that it will be fun to grow even closer to them while making new friends altogether.
Another thing that I am looking forward to is to start taking classes that are based on my
interests. In high school, the majority of classes taken are just classes required to graduate. I
think that it will be very beneficial to me to start learning more about my specific major and
interests. It was hard in the past to find out my career likes and dislikes when I didn’t have any
experience in major specific classes or experiences. In college, I know that I will be able to get a
better feel of what I really want to do for my career. The final thing that I have been looking
forward to for a while now is getting the chance to form connections with my professors. One
of the main reasons that I picked Fort Hays was because of the student to professor ratio. I
don’t think I would be able to be successful on a campus where classes have more than 100
students. I love how professors here have the chance to form relationships with their students
and help them make the best out of their time here.
Deciding to come to Fort Hays was a very hard decision for me. I have many important
people in my life that are back in my hometown that I didn’t think I could survive to leave. That
is what I am most fearful of when starting at Hays. I don’t think I have ever been away from my
family for more than a week at a time, and now I must go multiple weeks without seeing them.
I am very nervous for that aspect of the college life. I am also fearful about the quickness of the
college classes. I sometimes struggle with keeping my mind on track and remembering
everything that is due and when it is due. The final thing I am fearful about is making sure that I
focus on my academics. I know that it is extremely easy to get distracted and not take the
appropriate amount of time working on my career. I hope that it won’t be too difficult to make
sure that I keep my schooling as my number one priority.
Describe three things you are somewhat fearful of about starting at Fort Hays State University.