Michael VanAdams was a model student in high school--president
of his senior class, captain of the varsity tennis team, and a
straight-A student. So when he received an academic scholarship to the
University of Maine in Orono, nobody was surprised--especially not
VanAdams. Having excelled both academically and socially at his small
high school in rural New Hampshire, VanAdams expected more of the same
in college. He was wrong.
VanAdams did poorly on his first couple of exams and even received a failing grade on his first term paper. Instead of asking his professors or classmates for help, VanAdams began to isolate himself, spending hours alone in his dorm room where he would play video games or send e-mails to friends back home. To make matters worse, he became homesick during his first weeks of college, longing for his high school friends and sweetheart, who was attending a community college in New Hampshire.
"I did all the wrong things," says VanAdams. "Instead of seeing my first couple of failures as wake-up calls, I became depressed and immediately started passing the blame onto others. I told my parents that the professors were awful and didn't like me; I told my girlfriend that the kids who went there were snobs and no fun at all. Basically, I blamed everyone but myself."
VanAdams also told himself that the University of Maine wasn't for him. He dropped out a couple of weeks before completing his first semester. "Frankly, I wasn't properly prepared for college," he says. "I didn't go into my freshman year with the right attitude. At age 18, I thought I had the world figured out; I thought I could ace my college classes like in high school. I couldn't have been more off. I was failing three classes, and I didn't see the point of sticking around."
VanAdams did poorly on his first couple of exams and even received a failing grade on his first term paper. Instead of asking his professors or classmates for help, VanAdams began to isolate himself, spending hours alone in his dorm room where he would play video games or send e-mails to friends back home. To make matters worse, he became homesick during his first weeks of college, longing for his high school friends and sweetheart, who was attending a community college in New Hampshire.
"I did all the wrong things," says VanAdams. "Instead of seeing my first couple of failures as wake-up calls, I became depressed and immediately started passing the blame onto others. I told my parents that the professors were awful and didn't like me; I told my girlfriend that the kids who went there were snobs and no fun at all. Basically, I blamed everyone but myself."
VanAdams also told himself that the University of Maine wasn't for him. He dropped out a couple of weeks before completing his first semester. "Frankly, I wasn't properly prepared for college," he says. "I didn't go into my freshman year with the right attitude. At age 18, I thought I had the world figured out; I thought I could ace my college classes like in high school. I couldn't have been more off. I was failing three classes, and I didn't see the point of sticking around."
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