College brings with it more knowledge about what it takes to be successful and have the idea that the future was just around the corner. I put in less effort to get an A on every assignment and test. It makes a significant difference just paying attention in class instead of talking to friends or playing on the phone. Halfway through my senior year I became good friends with a guy named Nick Barrera. Having a mom who is a teacher, he had very high standards for himself, getting all A's in honors classes. I immediately began to admire Nick academically. One day in the gym he said he was essentially going to skip senior year and go to college in a dual enrollment program where he would get senior year credit to graduate and college credit. Knowing at this point that it would be beneficial for me to take this program, I began studying for the test to get into the program. Night after night of studying, the test lasted only a week. Knowing that going into the test with all the knowledge available would greatly increase my chances of passing. On test day I went in with confidence and a ready mindset. Passing this test was a huge achievement, now knowing that if you put in more effort, you would be successful