I was born and raised in the small town of New Waterford, Ohio. While growing up I attended an equally small school known as Crestview Local School. Growing up my class size varied but was usually around 90 kids. Crestview, for lack of a better way to say it, was not a prestigious high school. It was your (slightly) above average local school that was part of a close knit, small community that was good at sports and had what I would call “at par” schooling. Does this sound like your current situation? If so, you are not alone.
In growing up and attending Crestview, I was an always an average student. Most people tell you that in middle and high school they put in minimal effort and easily cruised by with A’s and the occasional B. As for myself, I was not blessed enough to be this type of student. I actually worked hard in high school, it was not always easy for me and was rather stressful. I was the not-so-normal kid who had to try at their small public high school to get the grades that I did. At the end of my senior year the class rankings came out and I was 10th out of a class of 89, and believe me when I say it I worked for it.
In looking for a college to attend post high school, I was looking for a smaller college close to home with that warm welcoming feel that would allow me the opportunity to play soccer. In visiting colleges I came across Grove City College and, like a few other colleges, it checked all of the boxes. When it came to making my final decision of my college selection my parents weighed in heavily suggesting that from conversations with others that Grove City College had the best academics (Which Grove City College did, but why would I want that when I knew that “best” only meant hardest?). After taking into consideration all of the factors at hand, I ended up choosing Grove City College and decided to take my talent to Pennsylvania. In coming to Grove City College I felt quite honestly ill-prepared and stressed at the amount of studying I was going to need to do because of the college’s academic rigor. In taking into consideration my little knowledge of what college was (in my small high school mind) and the amount of time and effort I would need to put toward achieving the grades I wanted, I decided that one of the reasons that I choose Grove City College became just a side thought which in the end led to my decision not to play soccer at Grove City College.
So, I was ready. A small town kid from an even smaller high school taking on this over-six-times-larger college as an average high school student at an academically rigorous institution like Grove City College. Needless to say this was an enormous leap for me, both academically and spiritually. If I am being honest, my first semester at the College was rough. I did schoolwork and studied non-stop and spent the time where I was not studying decompressing/resting in my room. It was not until around mid-September of my first semester that some of the kids on the hall reached out to me and got me out of my shell and out of the room. They encouraged me to do more with them and to start lifting and before I knew it I was twice as efficient with my school work and able to spend time out with friends enjoying my college experience.
Moral of this story is that whether you are a hard worker from a small public school in Ohio or a naturally blessed student from some large private school you can be successful. Take this time that you have in college, whether here at Grove City College or whatever college you choose, and have fun. Make friends and enjoy the experience. These glimpses of fun and happiness make the time fly and make the work less work and more motivation, motivation to do well so you can succeed in your future and field and motivation to work hard and be efficient so that you can spend time with people and form relationships. Whether you are my now best friends who needed to go out of their way to help get a shy kid out of his room more or whether you are that shy kid, get out! The best way to do well in college is to enjoy your time there.
If you are interested in hearing more about my story or simply want to just personally contact me about any of your specific worries feel free to at gosstd1@gcc.edu. I would be glad to help a worried younger high school me build up the courage to do things that I never did and to help you succeed to your fullest potential! God bless!
