I'm enrolled in the bridge program for multiple reasons. The biggest reason being was that I was the worlds biggest slacker in high school. I am definitely a bright kid, and am fully capable of achieving any goals I set my mind to. I just didn't like doing work. I went to high school for more of the social aspect, and didn't really see school as a main priority. I was more concerned with maintaining my friendships with people, and having fun. I procrastinated on all of my work, and did enough just to get by.
I took high school as a joke (which I completely regret). I always left my work until the last minute, and accomplished it with very little effort and thought, which in turn, made me receive low grades. I was not a focused student AT ALL. In math class, I would doze off frequently (which I'm sure we're all guilty of doing at one point).
As the years progressed, I started to mature more. I started to realize that I can't live like this forever. I can't goof off the way I did my freshman and sophomore year. Junior year I promised myself that I wouldn't slack off anymore. But the same old routine happened. I started off the year well, and once I hit a bump, I kind of stayed there. I was always afraid to ask for help, or didn't know where to find it. I was an extremely shy student in the classroom, and was afraid to voice my opinions because I was scared that my classmates might judge me. And I think that's another reason why I failed to receive good grades, which lead me to this program.
Senior year was a NEWSFLASH for me. My freshman through junior year of high school, I participated in a school organization called The College Studies Program (CSP). It's pretty self explanatory. The students in CSP were more focused and driven to do their work, whereas the regular kids (the remainder of the school) had it slightly easier. Basically CSP they taught you many skills you needed to know and have in college, and the work was a bit more advanced than the regulars.
Senior year was the best and the worst year for me. I was put into "regular" classes, because after having failed so many courses, the only way they could fit the classes I needed to retake was to transfer me to regulars. This really helped me succeed better in school. The courses were easier, and not challenging at all. I definitely saw the difference in CSP and regulars. I liked not having as many restrictions that CSP had.
A few months into my senior year, my doctor discovered a lump in my neck which needed to be surgically removed. It was a cyst on my thyroid, which after having surgery, was found to be cancerous. I missed in total, about two months of school due to the surgery and radiation therapy. I was behind on schoolwork, and found it hard to catch up. I seriously thought that I was not going to graduate because I didn't have all the credits needed. But I was cut a lot of slack this year by my teachers, which I am extremely thankful for.
I didn't really start thinking about college til' towards the end of senior year. This is where I started to prioritize myself as a person. I knew that everything was not going to be handed to me on a silver platter for the rest of my life. I needed to be independent. My boyfriend knew that I always had a thing for interior design/architecture. He suggested that I check out Columbia (the school that he'd been accepted, and potentially going to). I liked what I saw, and went ahead and applied. I was very satisfied with my essay that I sent the school. I feel like it really captured me as a person, and showed how much I wanted to go to this school. I feel like I possessed all the qualities that I needed to to be accepted to the school, but my poor choices in high school was the main deciding factor.
Now that I'm in the bridge program, I feel almost fully prepared to take on what the college life has to offer.
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