I am 18 years old and have lived in Santa cruz my whole life. it has been the perfect place for me to grow up, I enjoy living in a small town with great beaches, and feel extremely fortunate to have been surrounded by all of its inhabitants. However, I do not intend on staying here for the rest of my life so I recognize my education is crucial. This will be my first full time academic semester in almost two years, let alone my first full time semester at cabrillo. I graduated from Ark Independent studies last winter. Although some people flourish in programs such as Independent studies, it was not a good fit for someone like myself.I found  the curriculum and workload to be substandard and entirely sedative-ultimately contravening my ability to learn. This lack of mental stimulation left me feeling "behind" in my studies. due to my previous learning conditions, I am very eager to be back in a more traditional classroom environment and be given the opportunity to be challenged. I honestly do  want to get the most out of my time here, but I can not ignore my concern that i will struggle adapting to a new learning environment. However, for the past three years I have worked full time at a local restaurant and I believe this has helped me acquire a fair work ethic-one I hope to translate into this class.