The Risks I Have Taken as a Student and the Goals I Hope to Achieve

As I have read the epigraph several times, it has me thinking about the several ways that I have taken risks as a student, as well as how I have received many rewards for taking these risks. As well, it has also helped me create many goals for myself both academically and personally. Some of those goals include, writing much more maturely, thinking and writing both intentionally and analytically, becoming comfortable with people who are complete strangers to me, being able to read and comment on my work once it is published, and achieve some of the goals that are very common among college students. 

One way that I interpreted the epigraph is that one must take risks, especially during the very important transition period between being a teenager and an adult. I was able to come to this conclusion from part of the epigraph stating “… if these are adult things, accept the risk.” To me that means that as I grow up, I have to take on more responsibilities to be considered an adult, however, as I take on those responsibilities, it comes with the risks of me not being prepared or mature enough to handle those responsibilities. However, as we discussed in class, one can not be fully consider an adult by the United States government, due to the laws and policies in place, which have placed somewhat of a strict chronological lineage of when we are fully considered an adult. The lineage was put clearly in front of us in class on the twenty-seventh, when we were discussing the different responsibilities one gains as one gets older. This then gives us goals to pursue for us to receive these responsibilities, such as being able to vote at the age of 18. This also has me wanting to set goals to have a job and begin paying off medical school debt by the time I am 30.  

When one puts the epigraph in an academic perspective, it makes one think critically of how they take risks by putting trust in the institution they are attending. This point was brought up by Shaw, when she stated that one takes risks by attending college when they don’t even know that the future job they will have will even require a college education. As well  as putting trust into college institutions, students put trust into their professors to teach them the material, even in a class size upwards of 100 students. This point was brought up by Dr. McCoy, when the class was talking about how some professors use their ability to control grades to pressure students to complete tasks that can be quite daunting. This also has me thinking about how a professor’s time is split up when it comes to their job, which is put in the syllabus, is a risk in itself since it can not only seem like a lot for the professor, but it can seem incredibly daunting for the student, which causes them not to ask for help on something, in fear that it is bothering the professor. However, not in

Due to the different perspectives I have been able to apply to the epigraph, it has allowed me to think critically about what I want to achieve and gain from this course. One of my goals for this class are to be able to write much more maturely, as well as be able to express some emotions in my writing. I feel that this course would help me with that since the syllabus states that “…get to thinkING about structure and why you are making those choices,…making things more complex and unique.”  I also feel that due to the fact that we will be putting our work out into the public, it will help me think much more intentionally and analytically, which is something I want to achieve. Another of my goals is to be able to become comfortable with sharing my work publically. Some may say this a bit ridiculous since on social media, many share their lives on their, what is so different from writing and sharing your life. To me, people choose what they put on social media and only choose to highlight certain parts of their lives, where as in writing, you can become vulnerable without realizing it. Also for me, I am risking putting my work out in public and having many feel that is it subpar. However, I feel that I must become more comfortable in this aspect since I aspire to be a doctor, and I would like to publish research. 

Some of the goals I hope to achieve in college in general are pretty common ones, which I believe most college students hope to achieve. Some of these goals include making the president’s list, becoming much more independent, and being able to pursue what you want to do after college. I feel that these are goals for most college students since it is expected of them in today’s age and time. To many, college is a rite of passage of being a child who is dependent on their family, to becoming an adult who can support themselves, and eventually their own families in the future. However, there is a risk since society expects this from college students, since for many students, it puts more pressure on them, especially since they are already under a large amount of pressure on students to do well in all of their courses, from their professors, families, friends, and themselves. One must also think of those who didn’t pursue college or don’t want to go to college. I think of that population since they are then viewed by society as lazy, not put together, or that they can’t contribute anything to society. To that I say it is ridiculous that society is able to disregard those people just because they didn’t do what was expected of them. I believe it is ridiculous since some people have their own plans that don’t involve college, want to save up money for college so that they don’t have debt when they graduate, or they already have a job that they feel secure in that doesn’t require a college degree. 

The epigraph made me think about my goals, responsibilities, and the risks one must take to achieve those goals.

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