Rice 1

Quentin Rice

Professor Jan Rieman

English 1103-006

January 21, 2011

Choices

Throughout one’s life there will be many choices that he or she will have to make, and

those decisions will pave the road for their future. One major decision that I had to make was

what I wanted to do after high school. I had many different options such as joining the Air Force,

attending a local community college to maintain my current job, attending UNCG, UNCC,

NCSU, and ECU were all in the mix as well. Of these options, I clearly chose to attend The

University of North Carolina at Charlotte. A lot went into making this decision because I knew

with each option there were going to have to be some sacrifices. At home I had a very well-

paying job, where I got good hours, and where I enjoyed working. In coming to UNCC I had to

give up this job because I was going to have to move out of the area. I decided that this was

going to pay off in the future because at UNCC I would be able to get my degree in Systems

Engineering and math, which would enable me to make much more money later on in life. When

I informed my boss of my decision he actually supported my decision and told me that I could

come to work whenever I was home, including breaks and during the summer. This reiterated to

me that I was making a good decision.

My main driving force to come to UNC Charlotte was the fact that a lot of my friends

from high school were going here. I really didn’t want to have to leave all my friends behind, so

attending school here made that a lot easier. In addition to that, UNC Charlotte is one of the only

schools around that offers programs in Systems Engineering, which is what I plan on majoring
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in. Finally UNCC is only one hour away from my home in High Point, NC. Being so close to

home makes the transition to college a lot easier. I was able to go home if I needed something,

my parents came down every couple weeks to bring me stuff I may have forgotten or to help me

get things that I may have needed throughout my first semester in college.

After I finalized my decision to attend UNC Charlotte in the fall of 2010 I was really

nervous. I really didn’t know what to expect. As soon as I got to school I met up with some of

my old friends from home and we all had a good time. As soon as that happened I felt I had

made the right decision. After completing my first semester here, I made pretty good grades. My

parents were proud, I was proud, I made a lot of new friends, and I had a blast while doing it all.

Making decisions is a big part of everyone’s life. You are always put into situations

where you’ll have to decide one option over another, and you never know what will happen after

the fact, or what could have happened if you would have made a different decision. I think that

following your heart will always lead someone to make the right decision and that is exactly

what I did.