I am a firm believer in living your life the way you want to. You should not let another person's opinion change your dreams. However, dreams do not come easy, you have to work for them. This is more focused on post-high school choices for college bound students. I am happy to be where I am today but I had to put in the work to be here. Here is my how to on choosing your own path. Choosing your own path starts your first year of high school.

1. Take challenging classes (work your way up if you need to)

2. Focus on school (obviously)

3. Study, do your homework, study...(Get them As)

4. Sign up for clubs/organizations/teams (figure out what you are good at, don't overwork yourself, remember school is first, you don't have to be in everything)

5. Volunteer

6. Keep good relationships with your teachers/faculty/coaches/advisors (recommendation letters)

7. Experience life (have fun with your friends, go to games, go to dances)

8. Study for the ACT or SAT and start taking it your JUNIOR year (take it more than once)

9. Start looking for colleges as soon as possible

10. Make a list of colleges that match your criteria (location, major, size, public/private, price, organizations)

11. Apply to different level schools on your list (ex. Harvard, University of Iowa, community college)

12. Visit those colleges!

13. Start applying as soon as you can (early admission=earlier decision=less stress)

14. Accept the school of your choice

15. Apply for every scholarship you can (major, disability, gender, random, school, etc)

16. Apply for FAFSA ASAP

17. Sign up for loans if you need to

18. Get everything your school needs you to do done

19. Graduate high school!

20. Have a great last summer! (I worked all summer)

Remember you do not have to be perfect to get into a college. Colleges know that we are human. If you had a rough two years and then improved and rocked your junior and senior year they are going to notice. You can always explain what you have gone through in your essay. If your dream is to go to an ivy school, I'm afraid you have to be close to perfect and being in student government for four years isn't good enough. There has to be something really special about you.

In my journey to college, trying to be perfect burned me out. My goal from since I was little was to get a 4.0 like my mother and I did not achieve that goal. I was still in the top 10% but it wasn't valedictorian. I realized that not having a 4.0 isn't the end of the world and moved on. I was involved in everything. I had fun but it was a lot of stress. You never really know where you are going to end up. If someone would have told me that I was attending DePaul University four years ago I would have asked what that is. It really is amazing how much changes in a short amount of time. I love my school and I couldn't imagine going anywhere else. I hope you all feel the same way and good luck during your own journey to college!