Diving In by Julianna
Juliannaof Ridgefield's entry into Varsity Tutor's January 2014 scholarship contest
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Diving In by Julianna - January 2014 Scholarship Essay
As a returning college student with one bachelor’s degree under my belt, I have found my dexterity in navigating the tempestuous college waters to be quite changed from when I left campus ten years ago. My goals as a first time college student consisted almost entirely of cramming as many classes into each term as I possibly could afford and regurgitating the information just well enough to post grades worthy of more scholarships. All of this effort resulted in, yes, a college degree in four brief years, but not one of which I am altogether proud, as I can no longer recall much of what I studied so hard to achieve. In so many ways I cheated myself by approaching college this way.
My renewed aspect in life, together with my years of professional and parental experience, have taught me to be better. The vat of knowledge in which we college students pay to immerse ourselves provides opportunities to be more than just good students with an accredited degree one day, but better human beings and contributors to this greater knowledge base in which we marinate if we can manage to do more than just “survive” college. Expanding the mind through new information and outside perspectives can demonstrate to us how little we truly know as an individual, and how great the community of understanding is in which we partake, if we let it. The question is, will we accept the challenge to be better, or will we merely make the grade?
That being said, the biggest change I resolved to make this voyage is to, in fact, learn. The most effective way I go about achieving this is to front load the work by diving in immediately. By completing every reading and every written assignment earlier than 11:59 p.m. on the day it is due allows me to learn without panic, and that is the true key to digesting the information properly. Putting assignments off leads to miscalculating the amount of time needed to complete them as well as unforeseen last minute conflicts for my time. If I can set the pace in the first week of class, I can sail right through the term, on to college graduation and to a future filled with possibility and a lifestyle of learning.