Learn from my mistakes

I just completed my first full successful year in college. I first came to IU in the fall of 1995 a B-average student with exceptional test scores. College had always been a given in my parents' (and my own) planning for my life. I expected it to be a cakewalk, just as high school had been. Ha.\nWell, I promptly flunked out after my second semester. I came back the following year no more prepared for college life than I had been before -- and my cumulative grade point average reflected that at the conclusion of that third semester: a whopping 1.5 (up from 1.08). Needless to say, IU was not enthusiastic about my return.\nI went home to Fort Wayne and eventually got a job in a record store. It was fun and I got a lot of complimentary CDs from the record companies and concert tickets from local radio stations, but I knew that this was not the way I wanted to spend the rest of my days. Nothing against the retail industry, but I had no desire to spend the rest of my professional life as an underachiever wearing a name tag that read, "Hi, my name is Jon, how may I assist you today?"\nAfter a few months, I moved back to Bloomington. I took some summer classes and began the slow journey to good academic standing. I could not go to school during the school year, save the ridiculously expensive independent study route, and I was not the wisest with my personal finances. Therefore, periodic stints in summer school were my means to pull my GPA back to 2.0.\nI came back to school this past fall, truly determined and motivated to do well. My semester GPAs have been 3.84 and 3.67 the past two semesters -- taking 13 credit hours each semester and working in a local bar 25-40+ hours per week. I must admit, I am rather proud of myself.\nBut do not mistake this pride for bragging. My previous situation was self-made and is obviously not to be envied. There is nothing about my academic success that is unique to me nor do I mean to belittle those who try hard and get by with a 2.5. I am writing this to warn those students who are in a situation that is similar to mine and to encourage those who are trying to make it back. \nIU isn't high school. It is a research institution with a crippling bureaucracy that, for the most part, could care less about your life and future. Each undergrad represents a few thousand dollars in revenue that the powers-that-be will spend in whatever way they see fit -- and you can be damned sure it won't be primarily for your benefit. Ergo, it is up to each student to make the most of the environment and education this university provides -- not waste it like I once did.\nSuccess can be difficult to attain. Discouragement will come -- and it will be emotionally deflating. But if you continue to work hard and use the resources at your disposal, there is no reason you can't do in four years what it will take me about a decade to do. \nConcentrated focus and effort will pay dividends. Utilizing the time between classes or the time when all your friends are out having a good time will suck for a while, but it certainly beats sitting on your mother's couch watching television when most of your friends are in college and your life is an unrecognizable nightmare of what everyone (including yourself) thought it would be. \nUnless, of course, your career goals include the phrase, "Would you like fries with that"