As my professor reads the winners of Arapahoe Community College’s Third Annual Literary Contest from the podium, I remember an icy February night two months ago. Stuck in rush hour traffic during a snow storm, I was determined to turn in my nonfiction essay before the literary contest deadline ended. Although the school parking lot was mainly deserted when I ...

“Sing in me, muse, and through me tell the story of the graduating high school senior about to embark upon her college odyssey.” –My modified version of Homer’s The Odyssey. Homer made his epic poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey, unique by focusing on different characters and plots in each poem. But they’re cohesive because The Iliad lays the foundation for ...

It’s hot. Even though I’m a writer and I believe a good writer should be able to describe anything, there doesn’t seem to be an accurate way to record the feelings of a t-shirt sticking to the small of your back, slimy lines of sweat sliding down your neck, the grit of dirty feet from wearing sandals. It’s just hot ...

When you're in college and dating the same person you did in high school, you have two options: break up or stay together. Of course, staying together may call for committing to a long-distance relationship (LDR) which can be difficult. How do you go from seeing each other almost every day to seeing each other only once every two months? ...

Every day I realize that I'm a senior. I know that probably sounds like a weird thing to say, but every day I have this enlightened moment where I say to myself "Whoa. This is my last year of high school. This is my last year of mandated public education." When I wasn't a senior, I heard seniors talk about missing ...

I’m sitting on a red leather couch. There are two yellow Labradors, Sophie and Lucy, snoring at my feet, a warm wood stove and the Redskins game sounding in the background. Home. There are a lot of things wrong with this place, sure. The couch is garish in color and sticky in nature, especially in summer when the slightest drop ...

My first day of college, just over 20 years ago, was filled with the anticipation and excitement of every other college freshman. I was on my own and preparing for success in my double majors of education and business. Months of preparation and planning culminated in the moment I sat in my first college class, Business 101. Perhaps it was the ...

Four years is a long time. It hasn't seemed like it to me, but by June I will have been doing this high school bit for four years now. That thought has led me to ponder what these years have meant and will mean in the future ... of course I've learned a lot about endoplasmic reticuli and asymptotes and syllogisms ...

Clutching a white rose and an unlit white candle in my hand, I followed a procession of 35 inductees into the small auditorium. The audience stood up as we entered the room and I could see my husband, in-laws and five children craning their necks to find me in line. A violinist played classical music on the podium until we took ...

In high school, I went to tennis camp for three years. I figured I'd come out with a sweet backhand but ended up coming out with better sportsmanship, while my form stayed the same. In other words, I expected one thing and ended up with something else. Here are a few unexpected things I got out of each of my important ...

Ever look at successful people and wonder how they got there? Next Step asked five celebs their advice on how to have a successful college experience. Here’s what they want you to know. "I went to Indiana University at Bloomington. I wasn’t the first one in my family to go there—actually, my parents met there! Grades are so important, but if ...

Fall Take the most challenging academic schedule you can. It shows admissions officers that you're ready for a competitive college environment. Research prospective colleges. Sign up for FastWeb's College Search to find the right school for you. Attend college fairs and speak to on-campus college representatives. Register, prepare for and take the PSAT/NMSQT. Begin studying for the SAT or ACT. Register ...

Life at a huge school is quite different than what I thought it would be. I went to an extremely small high school (approximately 800 students) and it got to be too small after four years. When I looked at colleges, I knew I wanted to go to a HUGE school. I pictured lots of school spirit, amazing football games, lecture ...

Let’s face it—the things required these days to raise a child are expensive. There are school fees, fashionable clothes, sports activities and more. The way to control some or all of these costs is to train and teach your son or daughter to see things from your point of view and help them understand. Teach them about budgeting and having a ...

It seems like the sophomore year is one that you don’t remember. It’s not like your freshman year when everything is new and exciting. It’s not like your junior year when you start the college search process. It’s not like your senior year that is fast-paced, application-crazed, and meaningful yet fun. It’s the often-overlooked sophomore year that isn’t given nearly enough ...

Sure, championships are nice. But, when you earn your college's first title in more than 60 years in any sport, you become somewhat of a hero. On May 22, 2005, the Northwestern University women's lacrosse team beat the University of Virginia, 13 to 10, giving Northwestern their first national title since the 1941 men's fencing team. They also earned another distinction ...

They perform in front of thousands of screaming fans. Their images appear on t-shirts. No, not the latest American Idol, it’s your college mascot. But do you know the story behind your favorite mascot? What’s a banana slug and why does it cheer for the University of California, Santa Cruz? Why is the University of Texas’ Longhorn named Bevo? Peek behind ...

You’d think we would have been over it by the time we got there. My university orientation class was already so intellectually, academically, athletically and artistically accomplished. We had friends we were close to, families we cared about. Put together, we’d performed thousands and thousands of hours of service to church and community. This, you would think, was an emotionally and ...

Ali is finishing her freshman year at a large state university in the Midwest. The envelope with my roommate assignment arrived before my high school graduation and suddenly, college was a real thing. When Haley (Ed. note: names have been changed) first called me, she seemed like a nice girl. She was excited for us to be great friends and for ...

The good and bad things of life lie on a spectrum. At the top: scoring the winning goal in a hockey game, baking a perfect soufflé, giving someone a gift they’ve been secretly yearning for. At the bottom: kicking puppies, Gwen Stefani’s new CD, genocide. But below that, much farther down, comes one thing more evil than even Gwen’s misguided attempts ...