Sunday, September 9, 2012

Future Paths


"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. 

   



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