My College Experience In College

College is tough. College is a time commitment. College is… you fill in the blank. Before setting foot campus you already have this list of what college is, and for the most part they are true, but they are not all inclusive. My Lipscomb Experience class has been great at allowing me to truly dive into this world of college and all that it includes. Coming into college my impressions were the stereotypical thoughts: I need to study, I will meet the most amazing people of my life, and I will have the time of my life. I have come to realize that these are all very true statements, and this class has broadened these even more. This class has taught me how to have intellectual conversations with people whom I might disagree with and how to still

College will hopefully create a new me and let me enter adulthood as someone other than the same person that I was in high school. I would like to open up to meet new people and live on campus to find an independency that I’ve never had before. Some of my friends have told me that college will take you the way that you allow it to. In other words, some people put their main focus on their sports and extracurricular activities; I want to be able to take part in extracurricular activities but I don’t want my entire four years of college to be overtaken by that. I want to gain practical and valuable lessons while studying my major and, optimistically, I will leave college with an experience that I will never forget and will always have to hold onto.

As I embark on this journey, that many people refer to as “the college experience”, my heart flutters and my mind is filled with fear and excitement. I am not longer in my small hometown where I had been in class with the same people for 13 years. Those around me tell me that I am ready and I will do just fine, but I cannot help but think what if I am not. I look around and see all the things to do and clubs to join, but I realize I am not in high school anymore and I can no longer do it all. Now, I have a double major and grad school that I must think about when I make choices. The things I should do and the things I want to do may not be the same anymore, so I must pick which of those are most important to me because now it is my future at stake.

College is notorious for being a time of change, where you will meet your best friends and have the best four years of your life. You’ll be on your own, without parents, and the only person you will have to answer to is yourself. You can honestly make your college experience whatever you want it to be, and that is what makes college so unique and special. But, that is also what makes college so dangerous. There is no guide to go through college, no sure fire way to have the best experience possible, it is truly all up to the individual. But the media has a huge impact on how we view our college experience, and what it should look life. Through movies, articles and pictures we see on social media, we already have a foggy image of what

College is a huge step to take in life and causes lots of change in one’s life. In a way, it stealthily teaches you how to be independent and breaks you away from the sheltered life you’re in and throws you into a whole new world. When I think about my life so far, and what I have ahead, I now know that I am ready to take this step in life. Growing up and moving around a lot, I had to become adaptable to new situations and environments. This is a genuine skill that has become a true aspect to my life. My best adaption was entering high school. That’s where my interests truly flourished. I joined marching band and swim. These decisions changed my high school life in a big way. I enjoyed showing up every day and it gave me confidence.

For those who attended college will say that their best years of their lives were in college, while others say otherwise. So far, my SU experience has been a blast so far, but with four years still coming ahead, there is a myriad of matters that I want to do before I graduate. As noted by Barack Obama Howard University commencement speech “Change is the effort of committed citizens who hitch their wagons to something bigger than themselves and fight for every day.” (Obama, 6), I will make use of my time for the purpose of changing the world for the better. Some of these topics that I want to do are participating in classes or majoring in another topic, traveling abroad to possibly a developing country, working at a major or a little company as an intern, finding myself and developing my people/leadership skills, and growing my skills of cooking. Hopefully, my college years will be the best moments of my life and during these times I would develop these lifelong skills for the future.

I walk into the house close to around eight- thirty pm, it’s pitch black inside my house.  Still standing in front of the doorway, I call out to see if anyone's home. A glowing orange light appears bouncing off the hallway walls and barely brightening up my field of view. It was my mother, she was crying; I asked her why she had a candle in her hand and she had told me that the power, electric, water, and gas had all been shut off. This had been the fourth time in three months.

“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.

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.

In an article posted by Jessica Kane, there is a direct quote by Debra Lipson who stated “don’t be afraid to go out of your comfort zone. Try new things. Remember everyone is in the same boat as you are and they’re just as nervous!” College is the place where a person goes to study about the major he or she desires. The knowledge received here equips the person so that they can dedicate the rest of their life to their preferred job field. Even though many hear that the college experience is cool because of the parties, games, and other fun activities, it is not an easy phase as it requires dedication and a lot of time to study and complete assignments so one can earn good grades. This is a beautiful experience that college offers and not everyone is fortunate to have such an experience. Therefore, one should take advantage and benefit from it.

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.

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 am a twenty one year old female. I come from an old school Mexican-American Catholic family. I grew up in a low socioeconomic community but we never struggled financially my father owns a construction company. I was privileged and fortunate enough to always have what I needed and wanted. I went to school in a Hispanic dominant district it was not very diverse the minorities in this district were actually the majority. Even the teachers were not so diverse we had a few here and there that were from different ethnicities but most teachers were alumni’s from this district. While I was in school I notice amongst my classmates how some of us were more privileged than others not just economically but academically as well. Academically I was always in GT, dual credit, or AP classes and I saw how we were given a better education. We were always challenged more, we even learned more things for example how to write an essay I had been writing essays since I was in elementary and some of my friends senior year that were just in regular classes were just about to learn how to write one. We were even pushed more to do apply for universities and colleges it felt like they had given up on the regular classes before they even had a chance to prove themselves. I never saw it as a privilege I was never grateful when I was in school I just thought that’s just the way things were I was not going through it and it was not affecting me. It wasn’t until the summer going into my senior

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.