The Plan

My whole life, I've always been told that I'm college bound. I always agreed. I mean, it sounded right, it sounded like it was the way I should be headed. From a young age, I thought I had everything planned out. Once I got to high school, I'd take all the advanced classes, get straight A's, then get accepted into a great university and become the successful, educated person that everyone expected me to be.

Recently, I've been reconsidering this "plan."

While in class, one thought constantly crosses my mind: "When are you ever going to use this in real life?" The real answer is: Never! It's something that I had subconsciously accepted long ago, but for whatever reason, I can't help but think about this. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with the responsible path I've taken, and I definitely don't regret taking advanced classes (well, maybe AP Chemistry). It's just that I'm realizing the "bigger things in life." Lately, I haven't been so concerned about getting A's and acing tests, I've been thinking about what I'm doing with myself after I graduate. 

Where do I want to go to school? 

What do I want to study? 

Where do I want to live? 

Where will I be after college? 

Will I be happy?!

That last question is one that is constant cloud lingering over my head. I don't see it as a rain cloud, though. It's more of a reminder of what should be most important to me. I've been making it my priority to make sure I'm Happy. That's the only way to survive in this world.

So with that said, I'm not going to follow this whole "plan" I had set up. I'm going to do what makes the most sense, something that's achievable.

My new plan is to go to a community college for the first two years of my education. Then for the last two years, I'll transfer to a university. If I still want to be a journalist by that time, I'll go to ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism.

Now before anyone yells out like my mom did when I first told her of my plan, let me explain myself.

When one first goes to college, you decide your major and all that fun stuff, but really, you don't start studying in classes involved in that major until the last two years of college. The first two years are mostly devoted to the basics. Why pay the thousands of dollars to go to a university for basic classes when I can get the same education for less money just down the street?

This community college beginning is also a way to get myself set up financially. In every teenager's dream, we move out the moment we turn eighteen. Unfortunately in this economy, that isn't the case. I don't mind living at home a little longer, but as much as my mom wishes, I'm not going to live at home forever. I'd rather get out there and start living my life, even if I do struggle a bit. If I go to community college, I can still live at home and get a job and start saving money to move out eventually. I'm hoping that after my first year of college I'll be ready to move out. When it comes to my own money and I'm shooting for something, I can definitely save it. I can also be a bit of a CHEAP-O :) So I think I'll be able to do okay financially while I'm getting my education.

Scholarships. UGH! I'm sure I'll be able to get a good handful of them, but really....I know I'm not going to get a full-ride scholarship. Those are generally reserved for the athletes, or the students who came from rocky beginnings to the top of their class. I definitely don't fit into those categories. Of course, I'll still try to get them and if I have any chance of getting a full-ride scholarship, I'll take it! But as of now, I'm okay with scraping together as many as I can. Pretty much ANY kind of money helps.

Once I'm finished with my first two years at community college, I'll transfer to a university. By then, I anticipate that I'll have the money to move out and support myself. Ideally, I'd move closer to the university so I don't have to travel much. Also, it's far enough from home. Not too close, not too far. That's when I'll be able to focus on what I really want to do. And as you all know, that's Journalism as of now.

After all my schooling, I'll hopefully be on my way to the successful life I've always hoped for. And most importantly, I'll be happy:)

-Alexis

P.S. What are your thoughts on my new plan?