There are many reasons why I feel I will achieve success at Western Michigan University. Graduating from college is extremely important to me and has always been a must in my family. I come from a family of well-educated people who have achieved success in life. I truly believe to achieve success in your life you must continue schooling past high school. .
I grew up understanding that education is the cornerstone for success in today's competitive, global environment. I began high school with every intention of taking college preparatory classes. However, in my first semester of high school I was misplaced in a class called, "Electronics". I rapidly discovered that this was, in reality, a vocational class of no interest to me. After repeated, unsuccessful attempts to transfer into an academic class, my grade slipped drastically. I could not recover, and ended up failing the class and my GPA suffered accordingly. More importantly, my focus on academics significantly declined. In retrospect, I let a bad experience with "the system" become justification for a declining effort on my part.
I enter my senior year, challenged by my two older brothers, mother & father to review my priorities and truly understand the implications of not continuing my education, sobered by average test results and an unremarkable GPA. When interested in something- some historical event of note, music, how something works, building a website, assembling a stereo system, etc, I have always been able to focus and perform at a high level. I believe that I have matured to the point that I can bring this same level of focus to school and prioritize my time much more effectively than in the past.
My discussions with family friends, who recently attended and graduated from Western Michigan, clearly described a situation that is of interest to me both academically & socially. Kalamazoo is far enough from home that I must develop the discipline to function on my own, diverse enough that I must expand my cultural horizons and offers an academic environment that provides me the opportunity to prove myself.
