My College Experience

I once saw a quote that said “do not judge my life by the chapter that you walked in on”. For some reason, this quote really rings true to me. Would people think of me in a different way if they knew my whole story? In every person’s life, there are so any successes, challenges and failures, that if you walked in on their life on any particular day, you would have no idea how they became the person that they are that day.

“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 college experience was at 18 years old, a young 18 I turned 18 in May and moved out of state to attend a small private college in Indiana in August that same year. Went I graduated college I thought I was prepared and had all the tools I would need to succeed in college. In high school I did everything (or so I though) I took advanced placement classes, I had a after school job, I was dedicated and serious about my classroom. My first week of classes, I felt great, I thought I’ve got this no problem. Boy was I wrong. I began to struggle just a few week into classes and continued to struggle consistently throughout the year. Not just academically, but emotionally too. I was away from home for the first time, I moved to a new state and new city not knowing anyone for having the support I needed. After my barely scraping by my first year of college, I decided to move home and go to Ohio State. Thing did not really improve academically for me there and after 2 semesters I dropped out. At this point I was married and living on our own, I needed to work. I put my college education on hold for 11 years. During this time, I got a job as a receptionist in an office and worked there for 4 years until I was laid off. I few weeks later, I receive another receptionist job which lead to my career in Project Management. I worked as a project manager for 5 years, but still aspired to go back to college. However, having 3 kids, a husband, dog, house, and a laundry list of other

Friday nights are a busy time especially when you get home after a day of serving and making sandwiches, salads and soups. My dad had just got home and he sat straight down looking tired complaining about his feet and how they were hurting. He was always so open about his college experience because he thinks it is a good lesson we should all learn about because he didn’t have a straight road to go on. He enjoys telling people about it because he feels that others can learn from him. Jeff Anderer is a German Irish American who grew up in multiple cities, such as Hackensack NJ, Goshen NY, Charleston SC and San Francisco. He only lived in those city for about three year each but moved schools frequently because of natural disasters or closures. He had an unusual college experience but never the less was excited to share his experience.

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.

Growing up I fondly remember not knowing where I belonged. Even to this day I still ponder on this very thing. I was casted away by my mother and father, forced to live with my abusive grandmother. Who at every chance never wasted a minute berating me for every little thing I did. In time I grew to hate her like many other things. For most of my younger years I stayed in a hot trailer, on the back skirts of civilization. We didn’t have any AC and barely any cable, we were completely off the grid. I´d work in the field with my papa. He was a tall, dark skin islander. Hailing from The Virgin Islands, his thick ,harsh accent fills my head even to this day. I remember summers filled with hard work, sweat, little play, and sugar cane. My perspective of life has always been cynical. I don't exactly remember when I lost my innocence, or if i ever did. But I ,always remember looking at the world with heated distrust. Things only got worse from there. We moved for my first day of school,so we could be closer to the school district. We moved closer to what some people would call the hood. I personally didn’t see my neighborhood as such, but that was what it was labeled. My house was fairly nice, red and cosy despite the environment being unpleasant.

Fear is not a word that was in my typical vocabulary, as most people who know me I was very active throughout my highschool years. I participated in many things such as Student Council,Cheer,Band, and other extracurriculars. To do most of these you are expected to have courage and so on. One thing I understand now more than ever is that you never leave what you can do today for tomorrow, the opportunities might be gone. Many things would go through my mind these past months before I had to start college in the fall. It finally hit me that I was becoming an adult with many responsibilities ahead of me. This didn’t seem to bother me much since I kinda had everything figured out or so I thought. I wasn’t the first of my siblings to graduate. I forecasted I would have the help I needed occasionally throughout my college journey. As the days went by college registrations were getting closer than ever. I honestly was super excited to be back in school with familiar faces and even to meet new ones. The news I would be receiving two-weeks before I officially started college really set me back physically and emotionally. By this time I had met someone I’ve never in a million years thought I would meet my new friend fear.

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.

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.

Last weekend, as my final task in this 27-day journal reflection, my mother had given me on the hardest task that surprising made me rethink everything I've come to known. She had asked me to send in my university applications. At first, when she told me that she wanted to get it done before Monday, I thought I was going to need another task to write about in my reflection on Wednesday, I already knew what programs I want to go into. I had no doubts about what I wanted to do, what schools offered the best program, where I live on campus, how much everything cost... I had done all my research since grade 11. I was physically ready to submit my applications. But I wasn't prepared psychologically and emotionally. Not even close. As I sat there looking at my laptop screen, I questioned everything that I thought I knew and I had let my insecurities come to surface to make my decisions. I end up switching back and forward between doing nursing and not becoming an OBGYN but do prenatal/neonatal nursing or sticking with doing health science and probably move out of Canada to go to medical school (a lot easier overseas than here). I even thought about changing majors completely and go into women studies and not pursue a career in science at all. I had seemed to lose all self-confidence that had for two years, in a matter of ten minutes. I rationing to do is to talk to others who are in university right now-- which I did. I ending up calling my aunt, my two brothers, my uncle, my

I must admit that the thought of going off to college for the first time, made me a little bit nervous. Would my roommate and I get along, would I make new friends, would I find my way around campus, get to the right classrooms, and grades? Some of my most memorable moments have been meeting my roommate and making new friends. Not only have I met a number of new friends in the dorm, but also in my classes. Together, my new friends and I were soon able to find our way around campus and to the classrooms. College life has been such a great experience, because of all of the new friends that I have made, along with the independence it has created in me.

College is all of what you make it. You meet many new people, and see many faces. You will start new friendships, and possibly end some that you’ve had for a while; just know that it’s okay when it happens. Friends come and go, especially in this big transition. That’s what the college experience is, one big transition. Whether you are moving to a new city/state or even just moving down the street, college is a whole new chapter. It does pay off to be social in college, but you still need to have that balance of social and academics.

This college quarter passed by like in a blink of an eye, it has taught me many skills and lessons that will be important and beneficial for future quarters. While this quarter didn’t go by as smoothly as I expected it to go. It has taught me to persevere through the ups and downs and look towards the future. When I first decided to do running start I expected college to be just like high school, but with a little bit more homework and a decent amount of free time. In reality, it has been a whole different story for me with late nights spent finishing homework, writing essays and studying for exams. These past couple months haven’t been so sweet for me like they have been for others, but they have taught me many valuable skills and lessons. They have helped me get used to the college environment, taught me many responsibilities and have helped improve many English skills that I never worked on before. I have also learned first-hand on how important it is to have good time management and how open teachers are to help you if you need help. While I have improved on many skills, I haven’t completely fixed some of my old bad habits with procrastination and not doing homework.

Starting since 6th grade I always found a way to get out of going to school or doing my school work. I put in more effort in skipping school, not doing my work, and in extracurricular activities than I would at school. I was lazy a person, I was a C student, I was that kid who everyone expected him to fail. Until my junior year I thought school was a total joke, what changed my perspective about school was during the summer when I realized that my grades sucked and no school would want me if I kept up my poor performance in school. “To be great is to be misunderstood.” (Emerson) This quote by Ralph Emerson is a quote I can relate to easily. I always thought it was normal to not do your work because your peers didn’t do it, but I was right it was normal. I knew I have achieved greatness when I stood out from my peers, when I set myself apart. You may be thinking, “What made you decide to break your old habits and start your new ones?”

During my college days it was standard practice of a group of us guys after we dropped our dates off at the dormitory around curfew to go to an all-night diner up the hill from the campus. We would push several tables together and chat until quite late (or early depending on hour you want to define it).