#FreshmanFriday Surviving and Thriving: From High School to College
The Next Chapter:
High school has ended and you are preparing for college. If you are anything like me, you are experiencing so many different feelings; you’re happy, scared, excited, nervous, etc. Trust me, I’ve been there. These emotions are normal. You are beginning a new chapter of your life. Everything you have known until now is changing. You may be moving away for college, or you may be staying home, either way, it’s a big change.
For the first three weeks I went through a rollercoaster of emotions. There were days I didn’t think I could do the whole “college” thing. There were days I wanted to move back home. But then there were days where I knew this place was now home. There were days of exploring my new city and days living in the library. There were tears, but there were even more laughs with new friends who would become “my people” <3. I know it’s scary……. being in a new place, with new people, and being able to do your own thing. You get to learn how to adult! Sometimes it’s not fun, but it’s worth it. It pushes you to learn and grow.
College can be a place of extreme growth. You are surrounded by people of different cultures and beliefs and it makes you take a step back and look inside to find who you are and who you want to be. Maybe high school wasn’t your thing. Maybe you didn’t like who you were in high school. Well now is your chance to be who you want to be. College is a clean slate. It will be hard somedays. Hang in there. Growing pains always come with growth, but in the end what the pain can produce is amazing.
–Aimee, Girl Talk Intern
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| Celebrating Aimee’s birthday at Girl Talk HQ! Tiara and cupcakes required. |
Meet Aimee!
Name: Aimee Dykes
School: Samford University
Major/minor/year: Business Management and Entrepreneurship Double Major, Senior
How did you get involved with GT? I first met Haley through my mom at the Thirty-One Conference in Atlanta. I fell in love with the mission of Girl Talk and the heart behind it. At that point in time I was transitioning out of high school, so I wasn’t able to get involved in a chapter, but I helped where I could.
What made you want to be a Girl Talk Intern? As I mentioned before, I fell in love with the mission of Girl Talk a few years back, and I knew I wanted to help support the organization in any way I could. I also knew that it would be an amazing learning experience about the field I would one day like to go into.
What is your best advice for high school girls who will be going to college in the next few years? Study in high school. If you learn how to study now, it will be a lot easier making the transition into college. Do not be afraid to put yourself out there; whether that means applying to your dream school despite you thinking it’s not possible, or maybe it means you don’t want to go to a university and instead you go to cosmetology school. Never forget who you are and who you want to become. Do not let others dictate your future.
What’s your favorite thing to do when you aren’t working or studying? My favorite thing to do is explore the city I live in; finding new coffee shops, or eating at a local restaurant, hiking the trails. I love trying new things!
Current dream job? My current dream job is to manage a non-profit that rescues and aids in the healing process of women and children who have been affected by human trafficking.
What’s your go-to coffee order? For sure a vanilla latte!!
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? I know, this may sounds cliche, but I am telling you, if you take this advice to heart, it can be life changing. {Chase your dreams. Sometimes you are the only person with that dream and if you don’t make it happen, nobody else will. But here’s the thing about dreams — they will stay dreams, unless you work hard to make them happen. It will be hard somedays, but power through it. What’s waiting on the other side of the hard work is something beautiful.}
Girl Talk is a peer-to-peer mentoring program that pairs middle school girls with high school girls who serve as mentors. Our mission is to see confident girls to grow up to be confident women who are strong leaders and are passionate about giving back to their community.