College is one step from reaching reality, but it is a big step to being independent. I have been given great opportunities I like On Our Way, Summer Bridge, and San Jose Orientation; it opened my eyes to knowing that all this is to prepare me for my college life.
The On Our Way event was very overwhelming, hearing the same information over and over, but it was very informal and I was glad that the people there were very helpful with questions that many could not have answered anywhere else. At my orientation at San Jose State, I learned so much and gave me a bigger picture of what college is going to be like. It also gave me the feeling of impatience and I was ready to get it started, but I am taking things too fast and not knowing how it is really going to be.
Now the major transition I had to deal with is Summer Bridge, to me it is an early experience of college. I am currently on my second week of this program out of five weeks and I am transitioning with it slowly. My first week, it was hard to transition and to not understand why we are put in tough situations if we have not hit college yet. As of right now I understand that this program is putting us through hard work and tough positions to prepare us when college day hits and now I know how to deal with things and how to manage my time better than before. It is also teaching me how to be independent and to motivate myself to stay on track with my assignments and get them done on my own without having to do the same ways I did in high school. It is teaching me that college is a whole different ballgame, knowing that my old high schools ways are not going to help me survive my years of college and now is the opportunity to learn and develop new techniques to get through it. With programs like these helped me get a bigger picture, especially Summer Bridge, giving me the early experience of hard work, away from home, meeting new people, and getting out of my comfort zone. It taught me to be independent and to motivate myself and motivate others are cannot do so. It taught me to create bonds with people to stay connected and there for each other which is another way to stay successful in college knowing they or myself is there when needed. With this early taste of college, I cannot wait for the real day to come and to actually go to my classes and learn and build new skills to stay on task and new ways to learn. I am also looking forward to meeting new people from completely different backgrounds and different parts of the state and maybe even other parts of the world. But I am not looking forward to final exams and finals weeks!
-Angel, SJSU, Class of 2017
