English 1103 Writing To Explore - Choices

In life people are forced to make choices, some of these choices can be as easy as what

shirt you want to wear, and some can be as difficult as picking lottery numbers for that winning

ticket. One choice that I have had to make was determining whether I wanted to go to college or

if I wanted to take a year off from school and work with my dad. There were several pros and

cons to both of these options but after I fumbled around with both of these choices and got some

helpful advice I ended up at UNC Charlotte in the engineering program.

After I got home from the first day of my senior year at Shelby High School, and right

before I started getting ready for work, my mom sat me down in the living room and told me I

had a choice to make I could either take a year off from school and work with my dad in his

various handyman jobs, or I could go to college and study the major of my choice. My mom

gave me a deadline for my choice which was a weekend right around Thanksgiving. When she

gave me these choices I was excited that I might not have to go school for a whole year and that I

could be making a truckload of money instead of spending it. I almost immediately told her I was

going to take a year off, and that I might just stop going to Shelby High, but then came her

loophole in the verbal deal. She made me swear that I would graduate from Shelby High School

and not just by the skin of my teeth but with a decent GPA, in case I ever did want to go back to

school. After she threw that curveball at me, I decided I would work hard at Shelby High and see

where the next few months led me.

Almost every afternoon when I got home from school, and right before I left for work,

mom would ask me if I decided anything yet, to which I would respond “Not yet, I’m still

thinkin’ on it momma”. There were just so many different pros and cons to both of these choices;

such as when I go to work with my dad I always know that he’s going to be safe and I know that

the same is right for me because we watch each other’s backs, but there’s also the fact that you

Thomas Robertson IV September 1, 2010 Week 1

 English 1103 Writing To Explore - Choices

never know what job you’re going to be doing or if there is going to be a job the next day (my

dad is a repo man/ truck serviceman/ mobile home mover). Going to college would be a great

accomplishment that would be sure to get me a degree for a job that has guaranteed work hours,

and I knew that I could do any of the work I get assigned, and I would be the first in my family

to go; but on the other hand going to college would be twice as much work as going to high

school, and you have to pay so much money for your dorm room and for tuition. When I couldn’t

decide by myself what I wanted to do I went and spoke to my grandpa Robertson (Thomas

Robertson Jr.), he told me “Thomas you’re a smart boy and you’re going to do fine either way

you choose. But keep this in mind, a job like your daddy’s will get you nothing but cash in your

pocket, calluses on your hands, and a mind full of worry; but a college education is something

that a lot of people around here can’t get, and it’s something that can’t be taken away from you

that will be good for the rest of your life”.

After I messed around with my options, my grandpa’s advice, and some statistics my

guidance counselor gave me on the income for high school graduates vs. college graduates, I

decided to go to college. By this time my grades were still fairly decent and my guidance

counselor gave me a few options as to what schools I could go to with my SAT scores and

current grades, she also gave me a career placement test so I could best determine what I wanted

to study. After working with my guidance counselor and figuring out that engineering was where

I would place best I applied to UNC Charlotte and N.C. State, the only two colleges in North

Carolina with engineering programs. After about a month UNC Charlotte sent me an acceptance

letter and an invitation to visit the campus during an open house. I walked around the campus

with my mom and UNCC just seemed to have a really good feel to it, like this is the school I can

Thomas Robertson IV September 1, 2010 Week 1

 English 1103 Writing To Explore - Choices

imagine myself going to for the next four years. With forms filled out, financial aid applied for,

and an acceptance letter on my desk at home, UNCC became my university.

The choice to go to college a difficult and great choice by itself; but choosing UNCC as

my university seemed easy, almost like I didn’t have to even think about it. Without my parents

and my grandpa pushing me in the direction of choosing to go to college I might be working on a

mobile home, or a semi right now instead of sitting at my own desk in a dorm room on the

campus of UNCC. The choices you make are very important, and each choice you make should

be thought out and not made by just a flip of a coin.

Thomas Robertson IV September 1, 2010 Week 1