My College Experience

Welcome to the “playground of unregulated freedom” (Delbanco, 19) that is college. These institutions all have a purpose in forming an individual. Some take their years in college to discover who they are, to gain independence, or to simply complete their degree. My personal experience thus far during my collegiate career has been to focus on following my passion. I have taken my love of athletics, and interest in the human body as a way to motivate myself through school with the end goal of receiving a doctoral degree. Given that my first year of college was full of hardships that caused questions as to whether an education was truly worthwhile, I am here as a sophomore stepping out of my comfort zone daily to pursue my passion.

This course like my entire first semester of university have provided me with both many challenges as well as taught me many lessons not only for my university career, but for the rest of my life. As I reflect back on the semester, I recall telling myself at least once a week that I wanted to drop out of school, followed by many breakdowns, crying fits and calling defeat. The past few months, haven’t been at all easy for me, I have thought many times I wasn’t intelligent enough to be in university, I was disappointed with some of the grades I received and I was constantly engulfed in a swarm of stress. Despite all these tough times, I have had many good one’s as well, I have made new friends which are now integral to my everyday life and I have enhanced my knowledge to a new degree. Some of the many lessons that I’ve already learned in my short university experience include how to manage my time, the importance of meeting deadlines as well as the continuous struggle of balancing the various different facets of life.

I started a new life when I stepped foot on the North Carolina Central University campus on August 10th. I came here as a wide-eyed freshman who was excited to see the world and to see what else there is to offer. I never could have prepared myself for the things I would come to learn and realize about people, school, and myself. Sadly, when I first got here I was very naive to how other people move and operate. I expected people to be different, however, deep down I still expected everyone to be the same as the people from my hometown. Nevertheless, now that I have grown accustomed to the people here I have grown a love for my new community. I have learned to find beauty in every person I come in contact with and I am open to new things.

Coming into college I knew there was going to have to be changes that took place. Throughout my high school career I never felt the need to study. I was usually fairly successful without ever having to put too much effort into any sort of preparation for assignments or tests. I knew that once I began college things would be different. I knew I would need to study and work harder on my assignments. This semester's triumphs and failures has given me an idea as to what I need to do in order to successfully move forward with my college degree. I must be always open to change and adapt in order to succeed.

As a student, I can tell why some of the frustrations occur when the conscientious seldom does not pay off adequate. No wonder thirty percent of first-year college students drop out. Every second of college life feels intimated since the future of student mostly rely on how they manipulate the time. I wonder if I can keep myself into college, or will I be counted as one in those thirty percent of first-year college students. I don’t want to be that statistic; I won’t be. The present that I hold highlights my past, where life granted me one last chance to change my destiny.

I arrived at New North at 5:58pm, 2 minutes before practice should begin. There were about 6-7 people in the studio as well; some were opening up their instrument cases to start tuning their instruments while a few where in the back of the room chatting and preparing the percussion equipment setup. The 4x6 chair set up for the band was already in place, along with some of the trumpet section members in their seats and playing on their instruments or doing something on their smartphones. Slowly, more people showed up into the room around 6:00pm-6:05pm, heading to their designated seat with instruments in hand, or with their bookbags. Those with larger instruments head downstairs where the locker room is located to obtain their instruments

Learning about your strengths while in college is beneficial to learning and knowing yourself as a person. Two of my strengths were discipline and includer which both can be achieved through college life. To be discipline means to be productive to get a task done and not to procrastinate which means getting things done using a schedule and sticking to the plan. Anyone that is an includer does not let anyone feel left out of a group and wants everyone to feel welcomed to a new space or group. These special strengths is what makes up my DNA or who I am as a person. Both of theses things can be applied and even further developed during the next years while growing as a person. I plan to grow in these strengths by doing homework sooner which should translate into better test scores and grades while I want to become more friendly and get to know more people so that no one left on campus feels like he or she does not have a friend. Throughout life at college both of these strengths will grow me as a person and focus on self growth.

Shakespeare wrote, “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves”. With the life I had growing up, I never thought college was an option. I was in and out of foster care until my grandparents took guardianship of me when I was 12 years old. They never really pushed college on me or even mentioned it much. None of my other family went to college, some didn’t even graduate high school. So when I finally enrolled in my first semester of college this fall, I was very excited but also very frightened. My brother, who everyone thought would be successful with college, flunked out his first semester at UCO. He’s in the Army National Guard so he says he had a hard time juggling that and school. Therefore, it worried me that I wouldn’t be able to make time to stay focused, issues in my personal life, such as my work schedule, family, and television pose a threat to my success this semester.

I have made many mistakes in my lifetime. I have struggled, I have stumbled and I have fallen Still, I refuse to let my past define me. I refuse to let my experiences bring me to my demise.

I take in a puff of fresh air as I stroll down the sidewalk on my way to eight o clock mathematics. I take in the last of my summer, which engulfed me in the canyons of the west and allowed me to cherish the last of my childhood, as I step into the door. I meet my professor and new friends as my first steps into the life outside my comfort zone. Throughout the day I get the first glimpse of what college is like, and, unlike my first impressions, I start to like it. I start to enjoy the days ahead of me: new friends, more free time, and, to my surprise, not as difficult as I thought college classes. The days rolled into weeks, the weeks rolled into months, and before I knew it Christmas break was at the door. By now I have gotten used to life away from home. With my feet in a firm foundation and bit of food throughout Christmas break, I’m ready to tackle the next three and half years of college. I encounter both highs and lows throughout those next few years, from sleeping in on test days to getting an A on that paper I dreaded for five months. One of the biggest highlights I have is a travel abroad trip to Alicante, Spain that I had always been dreaming about. During this trip, I try delicious seafood and earn my history credit in a whole new perspective all while getting the chance to practice my Spanish with natives. Upon my return to the States, I keep at my work in hopes to earn the biology degree. Time flies and it’s already graduation. What I thought would be a least a

Throughout the semester, I have grown tremendously. Coming into this semester, I was nervous, but excited for college. I had expectations of how it would go, and nothing went how I planned. I had to grow up and realize I was on my own now. Everything was up to me; I can decide my bed time, I can decide to go to class, and I can decide what to make of my time here. Time management has been the biggest adjustment in college. Last year, I took 7 courses, two of those AP level, worked 30 hours a week, and still managed to have time for an hour gym session every day. In college, however, I struggled to have the motivation to even go to my 10 a.m. classes. Reality hit after the first week, and I realized I needed to stay focused and motivated to stay on track with my class work.

My first semester at the University of Evansville has been some of the best, yet hardest, days of my life. I have made many new friends, joined clubs, attended events on campus, and worked out at the gym, but along with all this fun came a lot of stress, hard work, and restless nights. Although I had some rough times, I believe that taking ID 106 provided with me all the information I need to cope when put into these situations and taught me how to avoid being put into stressful situations.

I feel that I have grown exponentially my first semester at UMD. Reading the letter I wrote to myself at the beginning of the semester, I realized that I didn’t have anything extraordinary to say to myself. The person I have evolved into over the past months is a lot more aware of the future and how the actions I make truly do affect those around me. Also, academically, I have learned about the educational system, the life around us, and how to relieve stress in my life. I can apply this knowledge my life and teach others about what I have learned. I am so blessed to have received an outstanding education.

The semester has been able to turn on a more positive outlook, I feel every semester that you are going to have of college, a part of you always matures. Think of yourself being a plant or a tree that only grows and grows—your branches, leaves, roots, so much rooting indeed.

Coming into a Texas A&M University as a freshman, I had no idea what to expect. Everything was new. From living in such close proximity to a stranger, to having a sporadic class schedule that I am completely responsible, the experience of college is unlike anything I could ever imagine. Having this seminar the first semester was so helpful in that it showed me my options on campus and all the resources that I have available to me.