1.6.20 / 8:56pm

The Journey

It’s been a good minute since I’ve written in this CC blog. I’ve been busy recording videos, editing, pursuing my other interests and endeavors. But one of the main things I’ve always preached is the art of consistency – especially if you want to be a successful transfer student. It would be hypocritical of me to not continue updating this blog..

Ending strong is always very difficult for any task. Whether it’s ending strong in a 1 Mile Run .. or a basketball game.. and community college is no different.

It’s always easy to start out strong.. I mean, everyone starts out with an A grade – a 100% in all your classes. Now, the real and true challenge is being able to maintain that 100% as the semester progresses. That is when the true test of your consistency comes along. That is when the successful transfer pool gets smaller and smaller.. when the people who were never truly serious in transferring gets weeded out.

But sometimes, it’s good and even beneficial when things get harder. It makes you want to try harder.. it makes you want to step your game up. At least that’s how it was for me. I didn’t want to be part of the statistic of a “failed” transfer student. I didn’t want to be that kid in CC who spent 2 years then transferring to a “mediocre school”. Then what’s the point of even attending CC in the first place? Everyone has their own personal reasons but I wanted to see my true potential and what I was capable of doing.

Pat Riley, one of the greatest basketball coaches ever, has a good quote that I often go back to. He talks about how winning an NBA championship ring is only a fleeting experience. He says that winning the final prize is an incredible feeling like no other.. but that feeling only lasts for couple days… maybe couple weeks. 

What really makes a lasting experience is The Journey that you had to take in order to achieve your goal. The trials and tribulations you had to endure… the emotional and mental hurdles you had to jump to reach your destination. Pat Riley, who’s won numerous rings and accolades said this… I’d take his word for it.. lol 

So to tie it back to transferring from a CC, you have to keep in mind that CC is not a 1 month thing… its not even a 1 year thing for most. It’s a full 2 years of dedication and commitment to the goal you set at age 18.. or 19.. or whatever age you guys are at. 

You can start out real strong and with a bunch of confidence. But can you maintain that same level of intensity for 2 years straight…? Now that’s the real question my friend…… #mambamentality 

/khr 

Wednesday / 11:40PM / 8.7.19

You’re a high school senior… and you didn’t get accepted into any colleges that you applied to.

Or you did get into some colleges, but you got rejected to all your dream schools… and you don’t want to force yourself to go to a school that you don’t really care too much about.

So, you decide to take a leap of faith and attend community college… which is considered an unorthodox route by many.

Once you fully commit to yourself that you will be spending 1 or 2 years at a CC, that is considered taking The First Step to reaching your goal.

The First Step is always the hardest… because you’re not sure what the outcome will be. You’re not sure whether you’ll do well or not live up to your expectations… but that’s normal. You can’t predict the future. The only thing you can do is keep working hard and pushing forward.

The First Step is always the most important… because without taking that First Step, who knows if you would’ve ever even stepped foot in community college? You can always tell yourself in your mind that you will sacrifice 1 or 2 years at a CC… but actually signing the application for your local CC is completely different than just saying it in your head.

I know a handful of people in my high school who were in a similar situation as me… but they eventually gave in and just attended a college that they weren’t too thrilled about…

Do you want to be in the second boat? Do you really want to force yourself to attend a college that you don’t want to be at just for the sake of attending any college? Remember, college is a 4-year commitment… that’s a pretty long time… Do you really want to spend 4 years at a place where you don’t want to be at?

Or do you want to be in the first boat – where you work hard for 2 years at a CC…. so that you can hopefully spend the remaining 2 years at your dream school…

Dunno about you… but for me, the choice was a simple one…

It doesn’t matter how fast you start out in a marathon… it matters how you finish it…

Take some time to ponder about this….. I mean, it’s your life that we’re talking about… and your life is a pretty important thing… lol…

Till next time..

/khr

Monday / 3:48pm / 7.22.19

During the mid 1990s at the height of the Chicago Bulls dynasty, an ESPN interviewer asked Michael Jordan this question.

“Michael, how come in clutch situations, when there’s only 3 or 4 seconds left on the clock, how come it seems that you have no fear shooting the ball during these crucial moments?”

Michael looked at the interviewer and simply told him..

“Why should I be afraid? You know how many hours of work I put in my craft? You know how many times I’ve prepared for these types of situations? I’ve prepared and prepared so I have no fear.. because I know exactly what to do”.

Basketball is not the same as attending community college. But the point that I am trying to emphasize is the philosophy and importance of The Preparation.

In order for you to have a good chance of accomplishing anything, you need to prepare, prepare and prepare… you can’t just go into something blindly and expect positive results. That is called being stupid.. and delusional.. and lazy.. which is the worst possible combination of traits to have..

It’s the same thing for attending community college. If you truly want to change your life and the possibilities that you can accomplish, you need to create some sort of plan… a blueprint for your life.

Ask yourself, “Why do I want to go to CC? Why do I want to transfer? Where do I want to transfer? What are the necessary steps that I need to take in order to transfer successfully?”

It’s easy to answer these questions in your head… but remembering things in your head is completely different than physically writing them down.. you become more serious when you see things in person.

These are the questions that you need to ask and figure out yourself. No one else can help write the blueprint for your life.. only yourself.

Your college counselor shouldn’t be the one scheduling your classes..

Your parents shouldn’t be the one dictating your career choices..

Your friends shouldn’t be the one pressuring you to take certain classes..

All these decisions should be done and made by Yours Truly…

Be like Mike… and prepare.. and prepare.. and good things will come into fruition.

Till next time…

/khr

Monday / 11:32AM / 7.1.19

If you want to increase your chances of successfully transferring to the college of your dreams, you need to first evaluate The Bigger Picture…

A large portion of CC transfer students are scared of attending a CC… because the chances of transferring well is not a 100% guarantee… but you have to realize that everything in life is not a 100% guarantee…

I look at it this way.. lets assume that we all live to the age of 100. I attended a CC at the age of 18… which means that I lived only 18 percent of my life…

18% … 18/100 … 0.18… AKA not even one-fifth of your life… lol..

Let’s say that you attended CC for 2 years… and you’re now 20 years old.. 20% of your life..

You still have 80% of your life to live… looking back several years down the road, those 1 or 2 years you spent at CC won’t look like anything…

When you’re between the ages of 18-22, you think that the college you attend is one of the most important things in the world… at least that’s what I thought…

But after graduating college in 2018, I realized that the college degree you receive is not all that important… it’s what you do AFTER college thats truly important.. the beginning of your true adult life really starts once you graduate college…

So what I’m trying to say is that if you really want something badly, you need to make sacrifices..

You may have to sacrifice making new friends..

You may need to sacrifice experiencing a dorm life b/c you’re living at home..

You may need to sacrifice 2 years of studying at a CC…

But you need to sacrifice SOMETHING…

If you just have the idea of wanting to transfer to a Top 25 College but don’t want to sacrifice and take risks, it means that you truly don’t want it… simple as that..

If you really want something… and you want it bad – you will make sacrifices.. no matter how hard it is…

Take time to think about this topic… b/c it’s important..

Till next time…

/khr

Saturday / 1:30pm / 6.22.19

For those who are attending a CC in hopes of transferring successfully to the college of your dreams, there is a certain feeling of uncertainty that you will experience…

“Am I making the right decision by attending a CC?”

“What will my friends think of me going to a CC?”

“What if I work really hard and still not go to where I want to go?”

These will be some of the internal questions that you will be asking yourself.. over and over and over and over and over again…

Well at least for me… it was..

When I first decided to entirely commit attending a CC, I truly did not know what to expect..

I literally did not know anyone who attended a CC and SUCCESSFULLY transferred to a Top 25 university..

I knew a handful of older kids who did attend a CC… but all of them transferred to average colleges.. which isn’t a bad thing… but I wanted to go somewhere GREAT… not just average…

So the question I constantly asked myself was, “How can I get into a Top 25 University when no one that I personally know has done it…?”

That is The Uncertainty you will experience as well… don’t try to ignore it… embrace it.. use it as a fuel to motivate you even more…

Until next time….

/khr

Tue / 6:57PM / 6.11.19

Exactly what the title says.. Are you willing to “suck it up” for 1 year? Or 2 years?

Are you willing to commit your 2 years working, studying, grinding, hustling… so that you can put yourself in a position to be successful?

This is something that is very easy to think about.. to talk about.. but to actually execute – you’ll find it a lot more difficult than you think.

I’m going to say this over and over and over and over again… Community College Sucks… anyone who tells you otherwise…. I dunno if I would trust them… haha.

But in all seriousness, I view attending a CC as a blessing in disguise. At least that what I realized AFTER transferring. Think about it… 2 years of “easy” coursework… 2 years of saving $$$… and a great opportunity / chance to make it to a Top 25 College..

I dunno about you, but for me… sucking it up for 2 years at a CC was completely worth it.. but the journey was not always smooth sailing…

Until next time…

/khr

Fri / 3:27PM / 6.7.19

If there is one thing that I had to stress on what it takes to transfer successfully… it would be to first establish your mentality…

I had to go to CC b/c my grades in HS were average – I had no other choice. I never had the grades/stats to get into a “top tier” school so attending a school like USC was something that I never truly even considered.. it was just a “dream school”… not a realistic option..

However when you attend CC, you have to realize that you are starting with a clean slate. Your high school grades, ECs, etc do not matter anymore.. they are wiped out – clean. This fact was something that took me a little while to fully comprehend.

I had to completely change my mindset and tell myself that since I was starting out on a clean slate, I now had a chance to go to the college that I truly wanted to attend.. Now, I just had to make sure to keep my track record solid.. unlike my high school years.

So if it was 2013 again and I had to start all over with the CC transferring process, the first thing I would tell my 18 year old self would be to be more confident with your abilities + your potential…. b/c you’re starting fresh just like everyone else.. this is very important to understand if you want to transfer successfully……

/ KHR

Thurs / 5:33PM / 6.6.19

I’ve been getting a decent amount of questions regarding how to transfer properly from a community college to a 4-year university.

To be completely honest, I felt pretty honored to have students younger than me asking me for school related advice… b/c I was in the same position as you guys when I was in high school / early years at CC. Never did I think that I would be providing insight and guiding those who need help with the transferring process… but I’ve transferred successfully and I know what it takes… and I want to help those who are willing as well.

I’m creating this blog to provide tips, lessons and rules that you have to follow in order to increase your chances of transferring successfully. I’ve mentioned countless times that “CC is easy AF”… but just b/c something is easy doesn’t mean that you will do well 100%…. you have to be willing to put in the work and make sacrifices.. which is a difficult thing to do for many.. including myself.

I will continue to update this blog on a regular basis.. some of the questions that people have asked me I will either make a video on YT… or I’ll answer them on this blog..

Here’s the link to my latest vid.. PT – 3: CC Q&A…

/ KHR