Life After High School

Anthony Torres

February 20, 2005

Academic Writing, Section 302

Vaughn Copey

Life After High School

I've just entered my senior year of high school. I know that this is a very important year. I have a lot of decisions to make and not much time to make them. These decisions will either make or break my life, and I want to make sure that I make them to the best of my ability because there is no turning back. I need to make sure I definitely want to attend college. The decision is totally up to me. There are many positives and negatives of attending college. Go over them, and then decide. I know myself better then anyone else, and I won't let anyone else tell me what to do. I will make sure if I am going to attend college that I have something in mind that I will want to do, to succeed in. Choosing a major can be a very stressful situation so why not sit down and take some time to do it? Be creative, don't rush, give yourself plenty of time and really think about what interests you in life. My major is something that I will want to enjoy, something that I will be doing for the rest of my life. Why would I want to be miserable at something I do in life? In two short essays: "College? What's in It for me?" by Steven M. Richardson, and "What It Means to Be Creative", by S.I. Hayakawa, I can relate to my major very well. Athletic Training is something that takes skill, as well as being creative in your own way. No two Athletic Trainers are the same. The more creative I am at whatever I do, the better off I will be. I hold the keys to all the doors that can be opened in my life, and I will ensure that they will not be put to waste.

Here at the State University at Cortland, I made the decision of choosing Athletic Training as my major. I knew I wanted to do this because I was very interested in sports my whole life. It wasn't an easy decision in choosing a school, but I think I made the best choice based on my major right now. In a short essay "College? What's in It for me?" by Steven M. Richardson, the author makes some very good points about college. Richardson states that there are a lot of reasons to not attend college, but furthermore states that attending college is your best bet at succeeding in life. Richardson states "The biggest reason for not going, probably, is that college costs money" (169). On the other hand, he states, "The decision to attend college is an investment in your future-a risk, certainly, but one with a big payoff if it's the right decision for you" (171). These are the things I had to think about along with millions of high school-students before making my decision on what I wanted to do with my life. Choosing a college is only the first part of the decision making process. What I want to do for the rest of your life is the question that the majority of high school students will ponder. As Richardson states, choosing a college as well as choosing a major is definitely an investment. The way you handle that investment is up to you. If you handle it correctly your investment will pay off immensely in the end (171). This is why I chose Athletic Training as my major. I felt that if I work to the best of my ability the payoff in the end will be worthwhile. Creativity is a key essential in whatever I decide to do. Without creativity our lives would be boring. In choosing my major at Cortland, I felt I could be the most creative in Athletic Training. I felt that I could give the Athletic Training program the most attention and create new ideas. In another short essay "What It Means to Be Creative", by S.I. Hayakawa,