Time off before College

Time Off Before College Real Life Mar 14 2008

Intro

Finishing high school is a crossroads of sorts. You can go straight into your career, or you can keep going to school.

But just because you picked one plan doesn’t mean you can’t change your mind. People leave school to go work all the time. And after working for a few years, a lot of people go back to school.

Neither Marni nor Devan finished college right after school and Devan’s a little nervous about it. But since Marni is a few years older, she can give Devan advice about it.

Dialogue

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Marni

Devan

Devan: So I just started college after taking three years off after high school.

Marni: Oh yeah?

Devan: I’m feeling completely out of practice. I’m a little overwhelmed because all of the other kids that are my age are already seniors and they’re graduating this year, and I’m just a freshman and I feel kind of at a disadvantage.

Marni: Really? Well, I don’t know. I kind of did the same thing. I started college right after high school and I did a year and it was just too much, and I took some time off and went back. I actually felt like I appreciated my education more because I was ready for it and, you know…

Devan: That’s interesting. That’s a good point. I think that’s why I didn’t go after high school is because I wasn’t ready. I needed a break.

Marni: Exactly.

Devan: Did it take you a while to remember how to format papers and stuff like that?

Marni: Yeah, and I was an English major so I had to do a lot of that. But you catch on quickly and you just kind of power through and…Are you taking a lot of credits? Because if you overload yourself, you know, right away, it can be overwhelming.

Devan: I’m trying to take it slow and ease back into it. But I’m excited. Hopefully my outside experience will help me.

Discussion

After three years of not going to school, Devan just started college. She says it’s a little strange since the other students her age are about to graduate and she’s just starting out.

Marni went to college for one year, but then left to work for a while. When she came back, she didn’t feel weird about it like Devan. She was glad to back and felt like she could finally appreciate her education. She admits that it took her a little while to remember how to write papers properly, but she also says it wasn’t too hard to get back into it.

Which do you think is best? To go to college as soon as possible and be the same age as the other people there, or to work for a little while and then go back to school?

Grammar Point

Notice that Devan says she’s a “freshman” in college. This means it’s her first year of school. Even though the word has “man” in it, it can apply to both men and women, but some people use the term “first year” instead to avoid confusion.

Sometimes new members leave comments on Ebaby! saying that they are a “freshman to the site” or something like that. Although it gets the point across, that’s not a proper use of the term. “Freshman” really only applies to schools.

Vocab X too much expr. Definition: overwhelming, a lot to deal with Example: Two jobs and a child was just too much. She eventually went crazy. overload v. Definition: to take on too much Example: We don't want to over load the horses so we only carry enough water for one day. senior year n. Definition: final year of high school or college Example: Senior year was really easy for me because I got all the hard classes out of the way early. overwhelmed v. Definition: overpowered, given more than one is prepared for Example: I was overwhelmed when I found out I could graduate next month from college. take off v. Definition: to not work Example: I think I might take Friday off and visit my mom. crossroads n. Definition: point in time when something will change; time when an important decision about life must be made Example: After college, I was at a crossroads. I couldn't decide whether to move back to my hometown, or to move to New York City. power through v. Definition: continue despite difficulties Example: Even though our funding has been cut, we're going to power through and finish the program. major n. Definition: a college student's main area of study Example: She's a biology major so she spends a lot of time in the lab. paper n. Definition: essay, a piece of writing Example: I have to write a paper for my history class this weekend. time off n. Definition: time away from something Example: I'm going to take some time off this summer and work on painting.

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