Learning Experience

Learning Experience

            As you enter your freshman year of college, you realize that you can start on a new slate and you can be whoever you choose to be. Usually, you will attempt to change and be someone other than you were in high school, but in the end your true character will unfold itself and trying to be someone other than yourself will not work to your advantage. When you leave high school, you leave your friends and past life in the back of your mind and begin focusing on your new journey. That journey begins with learning how to sign up for classes, knowing where your lectures are held, figuring out how to purchase food, and much more. However, the most important part of the journey is discovering who you are and discovering who your true friends are. In college, you will constantly come across new people and you will build relationships and make new connections with students from across the country and beyond.

            However, meeting hundreds and maybe even thousands of people will make you feel as if you are friends with everyone. You will have hundreds of phone numbers, followers on social media sites, and you will know the names of so many. But, if you sit back and think about which ones are your true friends, how do you know? Ask yourself the question, “If I were to leave college today, how many of the people that I met would contact me ever again to see how I am doing?” So, how do we know who our true friends are?

            Well, it is the ‘learning experience’ which enables you with the ability to clearly determine who will always be there for you. In college, we are learning a different life in a foreign environment. We are persistently learning fresh knowledge about life, relationships, academics, ourselves, and miscellaneous information that we will use to be successful. It takes messing up to not make a mistake again. Therefore, it takes experiencing to even have the chance of making a poor decision. So does this mean that we should all make poor decisions early in our lives so that we may have a wider understanding of how not to mess up? Yes and no. We should not aim to make non-intellectual decisions, but once you enter adulthood, any decision can affect your reputation and ability to acquire a job. Making one corrupt choice can cause your downfall when you reach an age where you are expected to never make poor judgments. For college students, the time is almost at its end to make poor decisions and still be able to bounce back in a reasonable amount of time.

            Essentially, the most important aspect of college besides attaining an education is to find yourself and to find who your true friends are. Secondly, it takes the ‘learning experience’ to realize who your true friends are and inside of the ‘learning experience’ consists of several things. First, you must mess up to find who your friends are. You will know when you messed up and learned something that will serve to better you when you wake up and think about who was there to help you. You must fail. Without failing, how do you know how it feels to be at a low-point in your life? You must also learn to adapt. If you cannot adapt to your surroundings, you will never grow. If you are not growing, you will fail to reach your highest potential. You will experience a lot in college and will learn an abundance of life-knowledge.

            In my perspective, you will learn more in one weekend than you will learn in a week in college. Academics are vital to your success, but life-skills and common sense, which is only attained through experiencing firsthand, is what enables you to accomplish the toughest of tasks. If you do not know who you are, then what purpose does academic knowledge have? It starts with YOU and discovering what YOU enjoy doing, what YOU want to do with YOUR life, and who YOU want to be. We are in college to learn and gain new knowledge, but we are also here for four years or more if we head to graduate school, to learn about the things we cannot be taught by a professor or by our parents.

            You will discover who your true friends are when you have a poor experience or make a poor decision because those who care about you will be by your side the entire time. You will have your friends. You will have your best buds. You will have your party friends. You will have your business friends. And you will have your lifelong friends. You place the people you know into different groups based on their importance and connection to you. Learning is endless. Find who you are and find who your true friends are. Learn to learn and live to learn.

 -Austin McClain Baker

Austin Baker 

Twitter/Instagram: @ABakerPresident

DreamsDriveDetermination@gmail.com

Austin.Baker25@yahoo.com

The College Decision

 

“The College Decision”

            Ever since pondering the idea of attending college, The University of Georgia has been my dream school. I was always talking, writing, thinking, and dreaming about the school, city, football, mascot, and more. However, since growing up and realizing that every college has its own fun and its own extracurricular activities, I discovered that I only liked Georgia for their athletics, mascot, and colors. Although their Business Program is nationally ranked and their Risk Management and Insurance program is ranked #1 in the entire country, I've seen students graduate from the most prestigious programs and work an "average" job with an "average" salary. On the other hand, I have witnessed people earn 6-figure and even 9-figure salaries from universities that are generalized as party schools or poorly educated universities.

            It has taken time, effort, and a significant amount of patience to choose where I will attend college these next four years. After applying to 14 schools, I thought I would never have enough time to narrow down my choices. After much research, phone calls, and open house tours, I was able to condense my choices down to Georgia, NC State, High Point, Wilmington, and George Mason. Then, I chose to visit again and research some more. However, I only managed to narrow down my choices to three; UGA, NC State, and High Point. This past month has been hectic. Many adults have told me to attend High Point. Students say Georgia. Other adults say NC State. I had no answer because so many opinions were thrown into my mind. Each person had their own reasoning behind the motive of attending one of the three schools still remaining on my list.

            I had no direction of where to go next, except to continue researching. But over the past two weeks, I have begun to understand that research only helps so much. Determining where one should attend college cannot be answered by a calculator, research, our friends, or even by our own parents. The decision on where to attend college is made by the one who will be in the classroom for the next four or more years. All I could think of doing was praying to God asking Him for guidance and signs that He may provide me with. Signs began to illuminate in my life. They were not direct signals from God, but rather they were indirect messages. The indirect signs I received from God facilitated my understanding on why I am attending college and what college is truly for. There were so many factors that I have analyzed; retention rates, graduation rates, job placement rates, course offerings, networking options, clubs, and more. I discovered that I needed to choose a college that fit my personality, goals, aspirations, and dreams.

            After touring The University of Georgia and attending a football game, I thought I had found my school. After visiting NC State, I found a place that I could see myself attending. But my final tour was at High Point University. I felt the presence of people who shared the same goals as me. I found myself admiring the words coming out of Nido Qubein's voice because he talked about "being the ONE", "Making a difference", "Not being average" and "Chasing your dreams." I felt connected to everything he spoke on and I felt that High Point could be THE school for me. I chose to place a deposit at the conclusion of the Open House on April 17^th at High Point University, but while on my drive home I felt that I wanted to attend NC State or Georgia.

            After intense thought on my own and many nights in bed not being able to sleep because all I could think about was which college to attend, I came to a final answer. I recognized that I had been thinking wrong the entire time. I had been thinking about what I wanted and not what I needed. I wanted parties, Game Day football, tailgating while wearing scarlet red and black, and a school with credentials. But I finally understood that what I needed was an education that focused on experiencing and networking. I don't need an education at an institution where people attend for the purpose of its credentials and use it as a label. I want to apply myself and become the ONE who makes a difference and continue to be someone who is not "average". After much thought, conversations, and prayers I have officially declared my commitment to attend High Point University.

            I have the opportunity to attend a University where students thrive in an inspiring environment. I am confident that I will receive an education different from any other institution because High Point focuses on experiential learning, not memorization of textbooks. I have found my new home for the next four years and I am beyond blessed. Through all of the challenges in the past year with my family, I am proud to see where everything has ended up. My parents, my sister, and I have ways been close but since the divorce of my parents, we have grown farther apart in some aspects, but we have also learned how to adapt and cherish the time we have with one another. My mother and father have taught me more than I can imagine and my sister has been there for me since day one always supporting my dreams. My grandpa has been an inspiration for me to stay away from drugs and to focus on being a successful man. I owe everything to God because He chose to place me in this world and He has given me a chance to accomplish anything I desire. I have such a supportive group of friends and family and I am truly fortunate. I cannot explain how blessed I am, but I would like to thank everyone for the guidance, support, and wisdom over the past 18 years. I have many goals, dreams, and plans for my future and I am confident that High Point University will provide me with the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills that will enable me to be a successful business man, adult, and human-being.

 

-Austin McClain Baker

 

 

Austin Baker

Twitter: @ABakerPresident

Blog Email: DreamsDriveDetermination@gmail.com

Owner Email: Austin.Baker25@yahoo.com

 

 Dreams, Drive, Determination