Focusing the Lasers

Coming into college we all have something different in mind, but the one thing we all have in common is that we expect to get something good out of it. Some come to school prepared and focused on what path to take, but most will change paths, or not have one at all. Classes that may seem unnecessary to students are required to be taken, this causes discouragement, and even when students are super motivated in their classes, they might find out the classes being taken were the wrong ones all along. Like mentioned in Focusing the Laser video, some students do not start taking the necessary general ed classes early enough, and some other students may not even be aware that there is certain classes that must be taken. Every individual has a unique story and a reason for the way the behave. A group of Chabot's students took the time to divide the students into six categories, as the students were interviewed I found that I fit into two of the six categories, but am actually hoping to be in a completely different one. I consider myself to be a visitor and a wanderer. A visitor student is one that was encouraged to attend college for non academic reasons. The main reason why I started attending Chabot was to give my mother security; she wants to see me grow and be sure that I will become completely independent. The second reason is that it is the closest school to me, and some of my family members have attended Chabot also, so I figured they could mentor me. These are not the best reasons for going to school, since there is no dream or motivation behind them. Another category in which I  fall in is the wanderers. Wanderers do not have a clear path, or have even decided on a dream they would like to chase. Like myself, most attend college because they believe its their best option, but end up taking a whole bunch of unnecessary classes. Being a wanderer makes you feel lost, along with that comes all the pressure of figuring out what career you will choose to pursue and the fear of failure. It is comforting to know that I am not the only student feeling this way, and that even though most do not speak about it, they are also fearful, lost and frustrated. I hope that I can become part of the Lasers group, which have a a specific dream in mind, a clear path and support. If all the students at Chabot were to transfer into the Laser group the transfer rate for four year colleges would be a lot higher, and many students would be bale to complete their programs without a problem, "every student we have interviewed that could fit into the laser category belonged at one time in another category"-Focusing the Lasers. It is comforting to know that it is okay to be lost, and that you do not have to face these problems alone. Knowing this gives other students and I the motivation to keep moving forward.