[CalamityJane425]

School was a total nightmare from 3rd-12 grade.
Kindergarten was alright except I had a really crazy teacher
who was out of control, she screamed at me I was 5.
But I want to try again after many years of avoiding it.
I'm hoping to attend Walla Walla junior college. W.W. is considered one of the best colleges in the nation. And I never in my life attended a best school it was always one of those at the bottom rung and it showed with the teachers, especially the other students.
I'm taking it upon myself to get myself into the best school.
Setback, Walla Walla is a good 10 hour train ride so I will need to move there.
That would be fine, the County I live in is too crowded everyone is moving here from other states & the rents are really high.
I have a pretty good plan which will take about a year & a half.
But I deserve a chance at a decent education. One free from aggressive kids & kids who would make lewd comments(must've come from a home were they were molested?), indifferent apathetic teachers which can make anyone depressed about learning. That can leave deep scars.
I've been called stupid by an older boy two grades ahead of me because I didn't understand a math problem. Wouldn't be the last time either.
When I was a senior in high school I had this psychology teacher who loved to humiliate the students when our exam results were finished.
She would say the following"
I have finished grading your papers, getting the highest scores were":
The teacher would then hand out the papers & say the names of students who did well.
I wasn't one of those students. I struggled really bad, and try as I might no one was willing to help me.
This is why I hated school.
Out of 300 kids that graduated according to my transcript I was at the near bottom something like 297 or 298.
When I was in public school no one seemed to care. All the adults were almost contemptuous when it came to helping me learn.
I never heard terms like "good job" or anything like that.
I only write this because I've had no one to tell this to, and no one who stood up for me. I received a lot of bullying, much of it from teachers, other kids & step parents. Sometimes I would just be ignored.
After awhile, it got to the point where I would show up for school, but I would simply "check out" mentally.
This is so important sharing this! It's one of the many, many issues that helped form my depressive mind.

[qwerty68]

College, even a community college, is far different than high school. It is like two different worlds. Don't waste your time comparing the two experiences, I have gone to 4 colleges(2 CC and 2 universities in 2 different states) and have never seen roving bands of bullies or instructors that were cruel. It is just a much nicer environment. Sure, in many(not all) cases, the standards and amount of work are significantly higher but that is a good thing.

High school is in the past, leave it there and move forward.

Having mental issues does make things harder but talk to the equal opportunity office for available assistance and services. It is not just for hearing and sight impaired people. The offices at Eastern Washington University and Arizona State helped me greatly with my MH and neuro issues.

The Walla Walla area is fine as far as it goes, if you like small communities, but besides the community college and state prison there isn't a lot out there. Housing is surprisingly expensive there also, at least buying real estate. I was helping my sister look, no idea about rent. There are schools over in the nearby tri-cities and that area at least has a few more things going on since it is significantly larger but nowhere near a big city if that is what you are looking to avoid. If you haven't been there you should spend a weekend and see how it feels.

There are many schools in Washington that are better than WWCC, although as far as CC goes it is nice but so are the ones on the west side and the two in Spokane. I have only been in the area once so take all this with a grain of salt. I am not trying to put down the area, if I enjoyed smaller towns I think I would like it there.

CC's are a really good starting point for students like me that didn't have stellar high school grades and were a little intimidated by the whole thing.

If you are a 10 hour train ride away, you have to live out of state. I can't think of any point in the state that is that far of a drive, much less a train ride(Maybe the far NW part of the state on the peninsula is that far of a drive???).

Like most states, out of state tuition is really expensive. One of the great benefits of CC is that it is cheaper so you can kick the tires, so to speak, and take a variety of classes to figure out what you love without paying massive fees. That advantage disappears when you come from out of state. If you are coming from another state it will have a CC (several) at least as good as WWCC.

[Travelinglady]

I say, "Go for it!"

[Tsukiko]

Definitely go for it!!! I didn’t do well in high school. I hated it and therefore didn’t waste time doing the work. I decided to go back to school because I wanted a better life than what I had growing up. I started off at a community college and it was the best decision I could have made! The tuition was great and I was able to prove to myself that i could make it in college before committing to a 4-year degree. I’m in my 3rd year now and have a gpa of 3.7 which I never thought possible. It’s been a total self esteem booster and has helped with my depression to an extent. You can do it!

[starryprince]

I also think that you should go for it! I think it'll be good for you and, as another poster said, college is really different from high school. I hated high school. My depression was severe and I was really struggling academically. When I went to college, I was suddenly getting really high scores and I graduated with honors. I went to grad school and I did really well there, too. I JUST got a job in my field and it's a good first job to have. If I had let high school prevent me from going to college, I probably wouldn't be where I am now.

At the very least, consider it. I think you'll do really well in college. I definitely know how much high school can damageg your self-esteem but don't let it hold you back. If you decide to go, good luck!!

[wordshaker]

I hope it will be great! Not always easy, but great! You sound full of possibility. I"m sorry your potentials were never recognized or encouraged. I am guessing you have a lot to offer, and the best thing is that you can see it in yourself. You deserve to shine and bring good things into the world. i hope you will be bursting with ideas soon.

[smallturtle]

You can do it! I'm in community college right now and I absolutely love it. I thought I would only do my first semester but I'm thinking about getting my associate's there as well before I transfer to a four-year for my bachelor's.

The stereotype that CC is for low-ambition or untalented students makes me so angry. I'm actually declared pre-med and hoping to branch swing all the way to an Ivy med school. I just don't have the funds to pack up and move across the country to give a university $30,000 a semester at this point in time.

I hope you love it. It is unimaginably better than high school.

I think going to a community college is a great idea. Is there a cc near you? Why not try taking a course or two where you are to see how you like attending college before moving that far away? Don't forget that they offer online classes too.

A school you feel comfortable at can make an enormous difference. If someone asks me how school is going or how I like it, I always start smiling (more like shining). The school I attend now is adult high school, although my oldest classmate is 23 or something I think. (There are also evening classes; most 'real' adults go there) Basically allowing people to get their high school diploma in a different level/subject, or get it anyway after not finishing, or get it after failing one or two final exams in high school.

They are a lot about 'your own responsibility' which is very liberating and stress-reducing. If I haven't finished my homework (because I was having panic attacks all evening or another 'valid' reason) and the teacher asks, I say 'no' and they move on, because doing homework is my own responsibility. If they do asks, it's because of concern: are you unwell? or: Was the material (too) difficult?
Also, this is the first normal school where I haven't been bullied. I have never seen anyone else get bullied, either.
They are rather strict on that: you are there because you want to be there, so you behave. If you're disturbing the class, you're offered to 'shut up' or leave the room (sometimes first a few warnings to make less noise. And they don't actually use the words 'shut up'.) No punishment, just don't be there if you can't behave.
Only punishments are being kicked out or not being allowed to do the test (meaning you can't graduate). There are very few rules and a very clear line - crossing it does have consequences.
I like to phrase it like this: you can sleep in class, as long as you don't snore. :-) (And yes, I've done so. Started new meds during the summer and was literally falling asleep everywhere, or so tired I couldn't concentrate. If you're falling asleep because of a hangover, they might wake you up and call you in for a meeting if it happens more than once.)

It basically comes down to two things here at school: TRUST and ACCEPTANCE. The school and its teachers trust that you do what you can and perform to the best of your abilities. And they accept that sometimes that means not finishing homework, having a bad grade on a test, or falling asleep in class.

It's amazing.