Control What You Can Control
- Dane Copeland
- Mar 20
- 3 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
The start of a school year, loaded with potential and possibility, can be exciting, but it also can come with apprehension. As a high school student, assessing the new school year and thinking ahead to make a few decisions about what you want to see happen can be the difference in making gains in personal and intentional ways. Often when I meet students and their families, I hear questions like “What can I do to get in?” and “What are colleges looking for?” These are excellent questions. However, don’t overlook the value in controlling what you can control and taking initiative to develop agency. Focusing on the present can have positive long-term effects.
What does this look like? Try the following:
Read more. If you don’t gravitate toward assigned reading books, consider finding alternative sources to read. Feed your brain. Your ability to master the written and spoken word is essential in articulating your ideas. Check out a few of my favorites below.👇
Focus on building an academic foundation. Dedicate time to your classes. Learn not only the material but also how to connect with your teachers.
Step out of your comfort zone in ways that make sense for you. There is comfort in the familiar, but seeing beyond what you know can lead to the possible and unexpected. Don’t limit yourself or constrain your potential.
If you’re taking standardized tests – commit to the necessary prep with time and focus.
Take care of yourself.
Develop realistic expectations on what you can manage. This can be applied to which classes you take, your extracurriculars, how much sleep you get, or how engaged you are in the world. More is more, but more is not necessarily better. The trick is to find what is meaningful and interesting to you. That will involve some trial and error until you land on what works for you.
Envision your path ahead and sketch it out. If you have an inkling of what you’re aiming toward, e.g., a certain degree, career interest, etc., you can start with that as a goal to build a foundation to help you get there. If you’re an explorer, try to capture what areas you’re interested in and dive into them. How the dots connect will most likely surface over time.
Manage your time. Have you taken a moment to look at where you spend time? If not, the beginning of the school year invites you to look at your school planner, a school calendar, and your smartphone to learn how you spend your time so you can be intentional and allocate your time based on what is important.
Focus on what you can control, whether in the next ten minutes, ten hours, ten days, or ten months, it can be the needed step for supporting longer-term visions, plans, and goals.
You are in control of so much. Time to be in charge.
For tips and articles about the college search and application process, join the list and subscribe to the college.u newsletter today. Never miss a post.
Know someone starting their college journey? Feel free to share or connect us at dane@collegeu.solutions
Even better, add dream.search.apply.A Field Guide for an Inspired College Journey, as a resource for your college journey packed with insights and resources to help you navigate your college path, and available to order today.
