I remember graduating high school and not knowing what the hell to do for the rest of my life. After high school, I was really unsure about which direction I should take my life. All I knew was that higher education always seemed unachievable for me. I was completely wrong about it…I just needed a bit of time. Success always depends on the route taken, I do believe that success comes in all shapes and forms for everyone. However, once you take the time to reflect on what it is you want, or what exactly you want to achieve, that is how success can come to you. That time to reflect is what will bring you success. 

When I was eighteen, I was working in food service as a cashier in a diner making coffees, egg creams, and milkshakes. But something buried in the deepest parts of my brain was… Is this really what I want to do for the rest of my life? Do I want to become a master of making a strawberry milkshake? Not really… That wasn’t my true aspiration at all. I would go home and think about what I loved. I would dream about making movies. I needed a lot of time to truly wrap my head around that dream, but I knew that was a goal. 

After a year of working, I finally pursued higher education in film, which has brought me so much success! Where is this going? Well, the whole point of my success was that I waited a year to get back into school. If I had jumped right into higher education from the get go, I don’t think I would be successful. In fact, I would’ve flunked school. Within seven years, I went from being an apprentice milkshake maker to a professor at a community college. Being a college assistant and a professor gave me a whole lot of insight into where students’ motivations come from. I often see a past version of myself in my students. There were students who were ready for college and did amazing, while others simply did not have the motivation. As an educator, I never assumed a student was lazy. I felt that there are certain obstacles they may have where they might not feel ready to be involved with school. 

By not being ready, I mean that students may jump into college because they get pressured by friends and family, they are still figuring out the right career choice, or they set too ambitious dreams. I believe that there is no solid timeline on when you should be pursuing college. This idea might be completely different from what we know about traditional education, but I do think that if you give yourself time before jumping into school, you can eventually be successful in the future, regardless of what you want to do as a career. Students straight out of high school can find that success through determination, but other students can benefit from maturing and building up work experience before enrolling in higher education. 

Always have a growth mindset and cultivate the habit of mind of persistence

Something that I lecture about to my students at the beginning of the semester is having a growth mindset. In simpler terms, you should be ready to learn and grow, but having a growth mindset is the idea that your intelligence can expand and you can build new skills. That does not apply only to locking in with your classes—that’s a given—it’s also being able to build on your own personal skills and to learn from the environments you are in. This means exposing yourself to unfamiliar territory, applying to internships, hanging out with your classmates, networking; all of that comes from having a growth mindset. For example, let’s say you are a film major and you wrote this script on robots. Then, while you are workshopping your work with your classmates, one of them tells you, “The robots are too unrealistic.” If you have a fixed mindset, you might want to say, “They are perfect the way they are!” But the whole point of having that growth mindset is being able to accept the feedback, or at least try it out, to see how it works in your script. You will experience lots of moments like that in higher education, and many times this requires a level of maturity as well.

Additionally, I talk to my students about the habits of mind, but the habit of mind students connect with the most is persistence. Habits of mind are also essential because students should feel comfortable with overcoming bumps along the road; college is not an easy trip. The habit of persistence is being able to overcome an obstacle and figuring out ways to achieve a certain goal even if it gets too difficult. That often happens in higher education. Some students may feel discouraged if things get difficult during their learning experience. For example, if a student with a liberal arts major is struggling in a math course, they might think they are incapable of succeeding. I see that common theme with students, but with persistence, you can eventually overcome those difficult classes or assignments that come your way. 

Having a growth mindset and applying persistence to obstacles helped me tremendously during my own learning experience. It is what has brought me success in my own journey. I encourage the same formula for my own students, because ultimately this is what promotes growth, and they walk out inspired; they know how to get a step closer toward educational growth. 

Social pressures of higher education 

Now… I come from a strict Mexican household, so you can already imagine where I’m going with this. I am a first-generation college student, so naturally the pressure of success landed on me. I  constantly heard what my family’s expectations were, but I was also trying to balance this with my journey of self-discovery, a dance that many first-generation students know well. I heard repeatedly growing up that I should’ve been a doctor or even a dentist, but that is not what I wanted to do at all! Obviously,  many families want their kids to go to college; it’s part of the classic American dream. But I will say, is if it does not feel right to go to college, don’t do it!

If you feel that doing an application is a drag, or you’re not excited about college in general… something to think about is, could this really be the right time? Are you financially ready to invest in yourself? Are you mentally ready to put in the work? College is not a step you are immediately mentally prepared for; you build yourself up for that. Not to sugarcoat it or anything, but when you are in college, you are truly on your own. Of course you have a sense of community wherever you go, but it is still up to you to take that initiative. You are learning a new sense of independence that can be overwhelming; no one really prepares you for that either. 

Another big question to consider is: Am I doing this for myself or for others? If you are telling yourself, “I am going to college because my mom wants me to” or “because my friend is going to college”… maybe it’s best to take a break. At the end of the day, YOU are the one earning your degree, not others. The reason why I am saying don’t enroll in college if you are being pressured is because I see it so much with my students. For example, when I share various resources, whether it’s for internships or for any event that may happen on campus, and students don’t necessarily take that initiative for their own academic growth or future, the disengagement starts. Do I blame my students for the disengagement? Absolutely not! Education should be something that you are actively interested in and ready to take initiative with, but of course it can be frustrating when the world around you is constantly pressuring you to pursue something you are not ready to go through with, especially if you are a first-generation student. Trust me, I felt it constantly! Social pressures can be so heavy. I believe that we should be able to put ourselves first, but most importantly, be mindful as well. 

Take your sweet time

You should be taking the time to really think about what you want to do. It’s okay to work in a restaurant, retail, or literally doing any sort of job for a while. People seem to look at that as a bad thing, where it may be looked at that you are falling behind, but I look at it as taking the time to think about what you really want to do. When we think about careers, we think about doing something for the rest of our lives. That’s a big decision to be making at seventeen or eighteen. I have seen students come into school and not take it seriously because they are still so young. Of course I don’t blame them! You should absolutely take time for yourself and do self-discovery about what it is you want.

I always ask the question  at the beginning of the semester: “What made you choose your major?”  A lot of the time, students say,“I don’t know, it’s interesting,” or “I just picked something.” Then the students who know what they want to do will say, “I am a graphic design major and someday I hope to…” There is a clear difference between who is ready and who might not be. Always ask yourself: “Is this the right field for me, or is this something I am ready for at the moment?” Depending on how you answer, you should go with your instinct and trust your own judgment. Sometimes having no plan at all is good, because, again, you should take advantage of the time to come up with one. I work with students to flesh out a resume to make them career-ready or to think about what skills they currently possess and how they can grow those skills. Another conversation I love to have is that while it may not feel like it, the skills students have are transferable. So in this case, think about your own interests. For example, if you find yourself watching a Twitch stream of someone playing your favorite video game, maybe video game development or New Media Technology can be a field of interest. If you find yourself reading or writing constantly, try out English or literature courses. 

My advice is to truly picture what you can see yourself doing throughout the day. You would be surprised by the opportunities you may find from the things that can bring you happiness. 

Start small… then dream big

While it may not feel like it, community colleges will eventually lead you where you want to be in the future. Something we don’t really talk about is how discouraging or how much pressure it can be to get rejected from an Ivy League school. Of course, in high school, I hope you were taught to have safe schools, but it can be really discouraging when you have that dream school and things don’t work out. Oftentimes, high school advisors tell students who are first-generation or who are in public high schools that getting into a school like Harvard or NYU is such a long shot, it’s impossible. But if that genuinely was your dream school? In that case, if those Ivy League schools are your dream, start off small, then think about going into that dream school. It might not sound like the ideal plan, but if you start off in a community college and do really well, the chances are higher of getting into those Ivy Leagues because you already have the grades on top of any internship/club experience that you take on! When you start small in a community college, the way to look at it is your building that Academic foundation. I would encourage you to network with your professors and also to  get involved on  campus. Any internship that comes up, be sure you apply. In a community college, you are building up that GPA and your resume at the same time. 

I started small in my journey at a community college. I barely made it out of high school, so at the time I told myself I would only get my associate’s. Of course, that became a lie because I ended up transferring out of a community college, and earning my bachelor’s. Now I am earning my MFA, or Master’s of Fine Arts, at a private college! Students don’t realize that community colleges can be a valley of opportunities. You can build up your grades and earn a strong  GPA; with that, you  can eventually get into that dream school, depending on how you do.  

My nontraditional view of education has really paved the way for my success, and it’s a story that I share as much as I can. It has made me realize that every educational journey is different; there is no clear path to take when pursuing higher education. As an educator, my role is to help students through that feeling of uncertainty. If you feel uncertain about your future then it’s completely normal! It’s not talked about enough how intimidating it can be to jump into higher education, I was in your shoes before and I understand the weight of the future, it’s such a heavy load on someone’s shoulders. I always say take your time with your journey, higher education will always be there whenever you are ready, that can be in a year or ten years from now! Success will be there whenever the time feels right for you. From a former master strawberry milkshake maker, I promise that if you take things slow and steady, success will be right at the finish line waiting for you.