The Transition from High School to Post-Secondary

Throughout my life, I have always been a self-driven and goal-oriented individual. The last two years of high school I have focused my sights on my decided career path on which I wish to pursue. I have come to the conclusion that the transition from high school to post-secondary education is a complicated and stressful period in a one’s life. From choosing a program, to applying, to making the grade, it lays a great deal of weight on a student’s shoulders.

As a prospective nursing student, I have certain aspirations I wish to attain. There is no doubt I am a girl with a plan. My mind is like a Blackberry, carefully scheduling and prioritizing my time so I can accomplish my future goals. Unfortunately, the application process sends my precious Blackberry of a mind into a state of confusion, and Tech support is needed to fix it. My thoughts follow a constant circle of steps proceeded by what seems like endless questions. First I have to choose a school. Once that cheque is written, I sit by the computer waiting, and waiting, and waiting for that acceptance. If I don’t get it early thoughts and feelings of worry and anxiousness succumb me. Do they want me? Have I done everything I possibly can? Until I finally see that little arrow saying “offer of acceptance” beside a school of my choosing, my mind remains a cluster of unanswered stresses.

One of the biggest stressors that take a personal enjoyment in my pressured state is grades and averages. Universities hardly see me as an individual with a broad range of talents and extra-curriculars. Yes they help, but to them, I’m basically a number. Certain courses and relatively high averages are a must. Making the grades and maintaining them have on more than one occasion sent me into a nervous and panic-stricken anxiety attack. When those nerve-racking grade twelve exams come around, a giant “Beware” sign pops up and creates a hitch in my well thought-out plan. The thought of falling a couple marks below makes me think “You won’t get in, they aren’t good enough and you aren’t good enough.” It makes me feel like I’m lying on my back, helpless, with a giant weight like an elephant is sitting on me. It’s an obstacle I can’t avoid if I want to go to university. Nonetheless, the only way to get through it is to keep focused on the goal I want to pursue, and endure. After that, the weight of the elephant will eventually lift, bringing the feeling of relief back into my tingling limbs and the prospect of getting into school one step closer.

As an applicant, I am just starting to arrive at the acceptance stage. I have offers, choices and hundreds of plans to be made. This process has taken my clear-cut plan and turned it into an overgrown jungle of stages that I never thought conceivable. I begin thinking about which residence to choose, as well as having to sort out living arrangements and the necessities of being on my own. This brings its own set of worries and anxieties of providing for me and stumbling independently on my own two feet.

Getting into post-secondary institutions is not an easy process. Similar to a kaleidoscope, the sight of my goal is there. The goal is present, but contorted with the stressors and ever-present worries that go along with accomplishing it. It’s a stressful and complicated transition from high school to post-secondary. I really have to focus and stay focused in order to reach and grasp that next step of my life.