"You briefly met with a college
recruiter last week, and you reviewed a number of questions to ask about
colleges. This must have gotten you thinking about your future, so tell us
about it: Without any strict requirements, write about your expectations, goals,
fears, concerns, questions that you have concerning your future in college.
Additionally, now that you know that recruiters want to hear about you and your
intellectual interests and pursuits, how do you think being an aware Academic
Leader will give you an advantage when applying to the college of your choice?"
Meeting
this college recruiter was a reality shock: it made me aware of how close I am
from deciding what I will do for the rest of my life. IB is coming up next
year, and I will already have to start making some choices, such as what
courses, that requiring me to have a brief notion about what I want to study in
college. This entire college experience, for the moment, seems surreal. Imagine
living in another country, all by yourself, studying hard and being responsible
for all your actions; it’s quite a lot to handle at once. I do not yet know
what I want to do with my life or if I am even going to study outside Brazil,
and these are some options that I have no idea how to narrow down. Still, even
before I decide where I want to study, I shall decide what. If I decide to stay
in Brazil, I need to first decide my major, than what university I will be
attending. If I rather study in the USA, all I need to choose primarily is the
college- which would make my life easier. Yet, I seriously consider medicine
and law as viable options for a future career, and if I want to practice in
Brazil I need to graduate in the country. There are so many options and so many
possibilities that I only wish that there was some clear method that could give
us a clear answer of what we were most fit to do, and still, that would not
mean it would be something we loved. The only certainty that I have is that, in
whatever area I choose, I will somehow involve it with community work and human
rights. These are two areas I particularly enjoy, caring for other people, and
are some of the activities that I enjoy the most to do. Dancing and playing
soccer are also two of my passions, yet I see them more as being a hobby on my
future rather than a career. Or maybe not, I just really have no idea. I am
afraid to take vocational tests and dislike the results they give me- what if,
for instance, it tells me I have more aptitude for the areas such as
engineering and physics (those involving exact numbers) when, really, those are
the two areas I most dislike. Then I choose a completely different major and
fail it, and I will forever blame myself for not having followed the tips on
the test.
About
advantages that being an Academic Leader and applying to college, they are
truly innumerous. For instance, the college recruiter cited that some of the
characteristics they most look for on applicants are leadership and creativity,
both which are highly developed in this elective. For instance, once we create
our portfolios we will be using our areas of interest and engaging them in
academic subjects- not only using creativity, but also developing innovative
ways to ripen our studies. In addition, this elective transforms us into
well-aware students; another quality college recruiters are interested in.
Having this experience to actually talk to a recruiter was truly life changing,
and I am very thankful for this elective and the opportunities it is bringing me.