Evaluating Yourself for the Future

While college is the next big step to think about in your life, it is never too early to be thinking about what else life is truly about. Academics have played a major part of your life throughout high school, but as you enter college, you will realize that it is not all that matters. As you get older, you'll realize that a 4.0 GPA in high school is irrelevant to your true personal and professional goals. While laying out the exact path of your future is not necessary at this very moment, you should have some idea of what is required of you now in order to get there.

I have experienced my share of epiphanies throughout the beginning of college and I am sure there are many more to come. Being born in a Chinese family, with a Chinese mom, and a Chinese dad, grades have been the only thing that ever seemed to matter. After receiving a C on a US History test, my parents would always yell at me, “How do you expect to get into Cornell with grades like that, much less become an architect. If you keep this up, you’ll be back home flippin’ burgers at McDonald’s earning minimum wage for the rest of your life.“ Sure, my parents were right on the money with that one because all architects need to know about the Puritans’ theories on predestination. But they did scare me enough to get my butt into gear and start planning out the next steps in my career. I began taking my summers seriously, interning at an architectural modeling company in Manhattan and enrolling in Cornell’s summer study program in architecture. My artwork became much more valuable to me in constructing a portfolio to send out to colleges as well as firms. Personal relationships became more important to me, as I realized from my internship, much business that is done in the world is through the people you know and the connections you have.

Enjoy the simplicity of your life now, because it will only get more complicated as you get older. Set goals for yourself throughout college--personal, professional, as well as academic, because even though your GPA may not matter to that business deal, it will matter in getting you that internship that sets you one your way to that deal. Know your plan and execute it. But make sure you do not jump ahead of yourself and cross bridges that you have not even come to yet.