College usually is a hard concept to grasp, especially to a freshman. Being a freshman myself, my life has been like a rollercoaster since college started and I keep going through the same loop. But being pushed too quickly, too fast, can sometimes make you lose yourself and the reasons why college was right for you. I honestly thought that when I went off to college, I was finally able to be that adult I have been wishing for since I was sixteen. As incoming college freshmen, we firmly believed that we had a sense of entitlement, that we were grown, and no one could tell us what to do. However, that came to a halt for me when I realized that I was starting to slowly lose myself being on this big campus.
For me finding myself as a woman is something that is close to my heart because of my career choice. Wanting to be a physician is one of my bigger goals in life, especially because the male to female ratio is quite disappointing, considering that we are living in a time where women are more business driven than housekeeping. Being a woman can have its pros and cons, i.e respect. Some may or may not respect me, solely based on my gender and because of that my job could possibly be in jeopardy. Of course it’s not fair nor right; however, knowing who I am as a woman helps me eliminate those in my life who cannot respect me as such. Women who dominate their field of work (for example, Beyonce Knowles, Misty Copeland, and the late Maya Angelou) are some of my biggest
Starting college as a Freshman is exciting; it is also unnerving. The comfort of everything I know is going to disappear and it will be time to grow up and face reality. However, reality isn’t doomed to be negative if I prepare for my future and
Starting college in August of 2008 was completely different than what I was expecting. My parents loaded up my car and sent me on my way to gain a college degree and experience life on my own, but looking back over the situation, I tend to ask myself numerous times do I think I was ready for college and the responsibilities that were to come along with it. Each time the answer was no. Being the first person in my family to go off to college away from home, I had no idea what to expect, or how to handle the things that come along with college life. Needless to say, it took me several major changes and me leaving my first university and transferring to one at home for me to get a handle of the situation.
First and foremost, you did it! You survived all crammed hallways, the cliques, and all the times you thought your parents were controlling you way too much. As this new chapter opens you will soon realize that your parents were always right and you really do need to not procrastinate and should balance your school and social life. College truly is the best four years of your life, but there are a few things you must always keep in the back of your mind.
Colombo explains that “Beginning college can be disconcerting experience” (Colombo, p.1). That there will be more peer pressure from your peers and an increase expectations that you have never faced during your high
The transition from high school to college is a dynamic time in one’s life that parallels the change from childhood to adulthood. Both of these changes are dramatic and, as a result, feelings are difficult to put down into words. A messy combination of emotions fills the heart, surfacing in strange ways. Confident high school seniors go right back to the bottom of the chain when entering college as freshmen. These students start all over, just like entering grade school or high school for the first time. The move up from high school to college signals the switch from dependence to self-sufficiency. From a personal point of view, going through the experience of graduating high school and transferring to a residential college campus at STLCOP, made me realize I was no longer a kid and capable of making my own decisions.
College is a chance to be free and is a bridge between the real world and school. I’m an adult and expected to behave as such; I make my own choices where I have to decide what is important to me. I have an opportunity to learn how the world works, to explore the limitless possibilities and a chance to admire how vast knowledge can be. College will change my life in the way that I can develop life skills outside academics, to be fully
“As many as one in three first-year students won't make it back for sophomore year” (“Freshmen retention rate”). It just so happened that I followed that statistic. Many colleges do not care much if students drop out or flunk out once their tuition checks have been cashed (Los Angeles Times).Growing up in a very strict household and attending private Catholic school, I was ready to spread my wings and fly. I was looking forward to that independence, my own rules and living on my own. I was enthusiastic to get started on my college journey. In my mind, I was about to live the dream. I would experience my own place to live, no rules, and get to hang out with friends! Oh, and college, too. I was not prepared to be so distracted
Going to college allows for many opportunities to open up in life. Society is changing at a very rapid rate. College is a very difficult time for nearly everyone, as Charles Murray who published an article on should the Obama Generation Drop out also states that “A large majority of young people do not have the intellectual ability to do genuine college-level work” (95). Attending college is not for everyone, but It can teach you to learn how to become independent, develop discipline, evolve new life skills, and learn how to balance a social life versus student life. The experiences you obtain and gain from attending college can lead you to learn how to live your life within the college environment in a way that creates harmony with who you are. It is a time of trial and error until you find what works for you. Eventually harmony is found by choosing a major that coincides in a positive way with the person you are. Once this is found, you will be able to establish a system of studying and learning that works for how your mind works. It is natural that your life will be in disharmony when the circumstances in your life change dramatically, such as when you go to college, but your life should eventually return to being less stressful. During your college journey, you will make many friends. Many friendships that you make in college
New experiences and “firsts” bring many mixed emotions for anyone. There is the feeling of happiness about what you chose to do, the feeling of anxiousness to get started, and of course the feeling of nervousness for any mistakes, mishaps, or misunderstandings. College definitely brings all of those emotions and then some for any freshmen. It’s a tough adjustment, and finding the balance isn’t always as easy as it seems.
A clean slate, independence, myriad of critical decisions, and a shower of responsibility are what college has to offer you. In “Your First Year of College: 25 Strategies and Tips to Help You Survive and Thrive Your Freshman Year and Beyond,” Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D. describes some crucial tips to help a freshman succeed in college. He explains “The first few weeks on campus are extremely critical for all new students”(Hansen). It is a crucial to go to all orientations to get to know the campus and professors. The author explains it is also good to get to know the people in each class or even in the dorms, if you chose to live in them, in case you miss a class and need help or the assignment. Most freshmen must also learn to cope with feeling
Freshman year, the year of many first; the first time living away from home, the first time being away from friends, the first time a student has control of their own learning. Freshman year requires a lot of discipline, but a lot of students do not possess this trait. The factors that contribute to the success of first year college students are social support, comfort within the college environment, self control,responsibiliy and positive self concept.
At some point, someone has said that high school will be the best four years of their lives and college gets even better. So with that idea in people’s heads, they come up with their ideal image of the college. They start planning the perfect scenario of what college they will go to and what their roommate will be like. They often try to compare an unrealistic image and turn it into a realistic image, but they are unlike in many ways. Once students step onto the college campus, they will soon face what it is actually like to be in college.When people understand that college is not the perfect movie scene, then they will take advantage of expanding and furthering their education seriously. Going to college is a whole different experience and there is a lot more to it such as the rigorous classes and overwhelming school work, being more independent, and forming new bonds with others.
As I graduated high school, I thought college would just be yet another four years of high school, and I was wrong. College opens many new doors in a young man or woman’s life. There are new responsibilities and pressures that you will have to deal with, and with more freedom these responsibilities and pressures can be difficult to handle. College has changed a great deal over the years and these changes, such as more freedoms, make college a much more challenging experience. You need to start preparing for college now by making yourself more responsible and having more self-control. Although you think college is merely partying with easy classes on the side, I have experienced pressures and work loads that make the experience challenging
Throughout my lifetime I have listened to people reflect back on their college experiences and explain how college is supposed to be “the best experience of your life.” The summer after my senior year I use to try and imagine what my first semester was going to be like based on what I had heard people talk about in the past. After my first semester at NC State I realized that I couldn’t fully understand what college was like until I experienced it for myself. My first couple of weeks at Ohio State was rough and really tested my strength (mental and physical). I faced challenges and obstacles that I had never heard about in those past college experience conversations. All of a sudden there was no one to get me out of
I remember this lady from ODU clear a day was telling my class her experience of college and her very first day of college .She explain she didn’t know what to make of meeting new people transitioning to a new chapter in like becoming an adult. In college you make a lot of decision of your own she talk about that challenge of people get caught up with partying and keeping up with grades. You have to balance everything because e getting overwhelm she seen it people stresses out with college. It can affect how your behavior and altitude when you become overwhelmed. Her tip for us is take some time to yourself sometime you don’t push yourself so hard. You have to maintain a good schedule to get good results it’s not easy in college it come with a lot of pressure. Listening to here I took that and