My College Experience

During the first semester of my college experience, I believe taking Composition 1 greatly improved my skills as a writer. The confidence I have in my writing ability has soared, my time and stress management has improved when taking on an assignment, and I have learned several techniques and tools that will carry on in my future writings. From the beginning of the semester I underestimated the depth topic exploration, drafting, and revision had on the success of a final essay. However, I believe I have successfully organized my thoughts to coherently write each essay from early on. I took every process assignment seriously to help determine what techniques work for me, and I stuck with what worked through the remainder of the semester.

In conclusion, the college experience has made me a changed person. It has made me a changed person for the better. I have learned a lot, I have learned responsibility. Without responsibility in college you will not make very far. You must get your work done, and be punctual. You must make the right decisions, don’t let peer pressure get to you, try to avoid it. Don’t let college change you for the worst, take advantage of

Since my childhood, I had this perception about college that has remained with me until the present day. I believed and still believe, that college is like a journey where one is prepared for being successful in whatever it is one dreams of being. My understanding of college prior the lesson wasn’t as thorough as my understanding after. I knew that in college students are expected to be independent and adult-like; to be the individual you wish to be once you’re journey in college ends. I gained this understanding from my parents, teachers and even sources like movies and social media.

Being in college has brought on a new identify for me. So far it has been formed of positive and negative thoughts and experiences. Starting with the most unpleasant experience so far, college is intimidating. I have found that relying on my family as a source of income while being away from them is risky. Trying to budget is difficult, and deciding whether I need books or food is impossible. Another fear of mine is time management. This is the first time I assemble my schedule. I decide if I when it is time for homework, for laundry to be washed, when it is time to eat, or time to clean my room, and all the other decisions that used to be made for me by an adult. Now that I’m the adult this strange freedom is pushing to test me greatly,

“Today is finally the day,” I thought with butterflies in my stomach as I hopped into my car and trekked forty miles to The University of Massachusetts Boston. Everyone’s first day as a college student is daunting and the nerves were definitely high that day. I was no longer attending a high school of a little over five hundred students, but rather a university with a total undergraduate enrollment of over twenty-two thousand students. This day was the start of a new chapter in my life and the University introduced entirely new opportunities for me to explore. Since the first day here, I have been submersed in a culturally diverse community that has challenged and allowed me to gain a new perspective of this world. The University of Massachusetts Boston is more than a school that I attend to gain a degree; it is a place where I continually learn and grow. I quickly fell in love with UMass Boston and only a few weeks into attending, found myself referring to it as my school. During my first year I was able to meet new people through my freshman success community and eventually form new friendships. Everything seemed to fall into place and my worries disappeared, but more personal challenge arose as the year continued on.

My first day attending Texas A&M University approached. Feeling anticipation and eagerness, I did not knowing what I should expect from college in the coming years. At the time, I was unaware only two thousand people in the University called themselves “Cadets” and that their journey is difficult yet rewarding. My parents forced me into this organization by making an unyielding and resolute decision that I was to develop my social and academic skills in the Corps.

Not being able to graduate changed my life a lot. It made things better, but on the other hand, made them even worse for what I was put under, stress and pressure. It was me, who was putting the pressure on myself, but my family put some of the stress on me too. Not being able to walk and graduate was already humiliating enough for me, how I thought of myself, and was thinking of my future were all stress factors. I was constantly thinking, "what should I do now?" It was stressful already to handle, but having some of my family put me down was even worse, I struggled with my ACT, and worried about passing my classes at Ridge, and competing my requirements.

“Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory,” a quote by George S. Patton, quite accurately epitomizes the experience of my first year at university. After being offered the Rogers scholarship, I knew that I would have to work extremely hard to make the sponsors and the Canadian Lyford Cay Foundation proud. Knowing this, I accepted the task. With taking on this challenge came many difficulties, triumphs, personal highlights, and, eventually, goals for my second year.

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.

I am in a dark blue twelve passenger van with unfamiliar people driving off to an unfamiliar place. Behind me I see my college campus slowly disappear. My summers tends to be chaotic with changes in scenery. Arrived just yesterday and already leaving for training to lead a week-long service trip. It’s my first time as leader and the thought of it reminds me of the wiggling worms I feel in my tummy.

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.

For many, college is a time of self-discovery. It is a time where many find their calling in life, their spouse, their passion, or their student debt. Some may go so far as to call it the best time of their lives. While there is potential for me to eventually look back on my time at the University of Arizona with similar fondness, for now, I have more pressing issues than finding my soulmate, like finding my next classroom along with many other stressful situations. So far in my limited college experience, the major stressors in my life are religion, academics, and social interactions; however, there are several ways I have found to manage these situations.

This semester was a journey I was not expecting. It turned out to be completely different from what I imagined, and I still can't decide if it turned out better or worse than I expected. At the beginning of the semester I was a constantly anxious and angry person, which happens to me every time after a long break. Coming to Capstone class I didn't know what to expect and how it will be connected to the field I am studying in. I am still confused about what exactly I learned in this class, but I will be describing everything I learned this semester from my outside of classroom commitments. In the middle of the semester I received a job offer with a City of Bridgeport. It was a 3-month finance internship with the office of Small and Minority Businesses. My classes were always my main priorities, however, once I accepted the offer, I knew that I'm not only representing myself, but my employer is judging the whole school based on my performance. This led me to the first change I've made this semester: change of priorities. This is important if I want to live a balanced and fulfilling life. Many people are successful in their career but don't have good relationships with their family because of wrong priorities. They put things like money and reputation above their relationships. And I used to do that a lot. My classes, work, and other commitments were always above any social interactions, whether it was family or friends. Yet, I realized that I do not fill accomplished if I

My first semester of college taught me the importance of balance. When I got to college, I thought life would be easy, especially when I learned that all classes were not mandatory. After the first day of classes, I had made the resolution to be relentless about my schoolwork and remain focused. However, I did not realize how many diversions there were in college. Every other weekend there was a party or even going on. At first, I remained diligent about my school work. I stayed in my room and did all of my readings and homework early so that I did not forget to do it. After a while, however, I began to envy my friends who had stories about how much fun they had at the parties.

Growing up I had been told that college would be this amazing adventure that I would partake in and my one job was to make sure that I got in and did my homework. I came to a quick conclusion that college life is not as glamorous as I have heard from different people. When I realized that I was going to be a student, I had no idea that there were so many different components that went into it. Being a student in college is not as easy as it was in high school. As a college student there are more responsibilities. A student in college has to manage their time, in order to; do homework, manage an adult life, and go to class.