Fall 2012.
November 30, 2012
Dear English 030 Student,
First of all I would like to say welcome and congratulation. My name is Laverne Young and I'm 33 yrs. old with two daughters, Aquria is eleven, and Desiree is seven. They were my inspiration to come back to school and fulfill my dream of becoming a Registered Nurse. When I graduated from high school, I had a five year plan for my life. I was the first in my family to graduate from high school and attend college. In that plan I would graduate from college and start my career as a R.N. at the hospital of my choosing. Well as you can see it didn't quite happen that way. I got pregnant with my first daughter, and stopped going to school in the third year of my five year plan. When my second daughter was born I gave up on becoming a R.N. because I felt I didn't have the time and my kids were my priority now. When Desiree started school, I idly sat at home alone, until it hit me: now is the time to finish school while they are learning. I know it won't be easy, but I'm determined to show my kids how you can achieve your dreams even if it doesn't go as you plan. I'm now in my third semester, and have passed all my classes with A's, so something that I’m doing is working, and I would like to share that with you.
The best advice I received was given by my father when I was 17 years old. I opened my first saving account when I was 15 years old and my father signed for me because the bank said I needed a parent on the account. However when I turned 17, I opened a checking account on my own, and three months later I received an offer for a credit card with a $500 limit. I was so excited and instantly told my dad I had $500 in free money. He told me not to get the credit card. He explained that it was not free money, and that I would have to pay more than $500 dollars back. He pulled out a gold card from his wallet, and told me he had a $100,000 limit, but he had never used it. He said that it was best to save up, and buy what you wanted with cash instead of using credit because that's how you get in debt. Although I didn't fully understand why at the time I didn't get the credit card, I thought it was still free in a way. As a result today I can say I learned how to budget my money and get the things I want without using credit cards and staying out debt at the same time because of the advice he gave me when I was younger.
I know you’re probably wondering why I’m telling you things about myself, even though I’m supposed to give you advice. Well I know for me it’s hard to take advice from people who I know and it would be even harder for me to take advice from someone I didn’t know, or have never met. For this reason I decided to tell you a little bit about myself, before I gave you any advice. There are a lot of things that go with being a successful student in college. I know for me I had to learn how to manage my time better and prioritize things. I don’t know what you have going on in your life, maybe you have kids, or are married, or have a part/full time job, but I would like for you to do this for me when you have the time. Get a sheet of paper and a pen, or you can do it on the computer, but sit down and really take a look at everything you do in a day and write it down. When you do this please don't get discouraged and think I just don't have enough time, or energy to do everything and be successful in school. My list was so long I felt overwhelmed and wanted to give up, but then I started eliminating things, and delegating others to my kids. When I did that my list became manageable. Once you see everything you do written down daily, you can prioritize the things that must be done by you and what things you can delegate for others to do that will help you. Doing a little preparation a head will help like getting your clothes ready and making sure you have everything you need for class in your backpack the night before and this will help you be prepared and on time for class.
Another piece of advice I want to give you is to stay focused and that's easier said than done. I know when you first start class you’re motivated and ready for anything and towards the middle you can start to drift off and want to slack on coming to class, or doing the homework. If you notice yourself slacking just remember what your goals are for going to school, or what motivates you, and also remember it's not going to last forever just 8-15 weeks. Now for the young college student this is for you; there will always be other parties and functions to attend, I promise. Please remember If You Work Hard Now You Can Play Hard Later.
My advice for you as the 030 student is to take the class serious. Even if you think you don't belong in the class because you're a good writer, you will learn how to write even better. The assignments that you will receive will be challenging and personal. When I started the class I thought I knew how to write so this was going to be an easy A, boy was I wrong. I got an A on all the assignments but it wasn't easy. I learned more about how I write and what I needed help with, meaning you might have the writing process down but how do you write. You will learn that in this class. You will also come out of the class knowing more about yourself personally and if you take it serious you will be a better person when you complete the class.
Finally I hope the advice I have given will be helpful to you. However some of the advice you may use during the duration of your college experience, so keep what I said in mind. Remember I told you my best advice was given when I was 17, but I didn’t really understand it completely until I was older.
Good Luck,
Laverne Young
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