My Experience In College

It was fall of my final year of Junior High and I was excited to go into high school. In Arellanes Jr High School I was a very popular person but, my circle was very small. I was a short brunette that dressed like a tomboy. I was a honor band student and also a cheerleader, it was a weird combination for me. I had a boyfriend in the beginning of the year and his name was Isaac and he was the person that really motivated me to do better in school. Isaac was a tall, slim mexican boy that loved to draw. Once school finally started I would get up at seven in the morning to get ready for school. Then leave around 8:10 in order to not miss the bus to school. At my bus stop it was just a couple of kids because where I lived they called it the “rich new houses”. In the city of Santa Maria it was very small and low populated city where everyone knew each other and not many of the houses were really in the best condition. In my bus stop the kids there were the people that I would usually spent time with. Julie, Mia, and Alex were the people that I mainly talked to but then I started to notice that there was 2 new boys that were at the bus stop. I decided to step up and introduce myself. Once I introduced myself they told me that their names were Juan and Jalen. Juan and Jalen were best friends and I noticed that they were both not going in the right path. Later on throughout the year I started to become closer and closer. One day after school when Cheer practice was cancelled I was

So far I have learned that college is like getting slapped in the face with a big fat “No.” I no longer have the flexibility to attend social events, study, and work in a timely fashion. Between juggling these aspects, my life has been extremely stressful. In an attempt to lower my stress, I kept a journal for the past two weeks; it consisted of my stressors, and how I coped with them. Throughout this journaling process, I have come to the realization that money and my mother are the most agitating stressors in my life. In an attempt to overcome my mother’s financial expectations and obtain financial stability, I have come to the realization that I cannot always impress my mother and should no longer stress myself out trying to do so. Instead of allowing money to be a distraction, I should focus on bettering myself academically, mentally and spiritually.

Currently, I am a full time student and have worked a few part time jobs throughout my junior and senior year of high school. About 6 years ago, my father was diagnosed with Chron’s disease. My parents have a substantial amount of medical bills. I knew that them paying for me to go to college was not their first priority for where their money went, but they were going to try as best they could. The emotional burden on my family has been just as significant as the financial burden. To help with both of these, I threw myself into school and

I would like to pretend that the bridge between elementary school and high school did not exist for me—that junior high just did not happen. I was a seemingly thoughtless kid, determined to make it out of school entirely and live in my own world where nobody could tell me what to do. I was awkward, irrational, and rebellious, three qualities I cannot thank my parents enough for dealing with. But the experiences and people I encountered in my junior high years almost made that whole chapter of my life worth reliving. I went through a lot in junior high, and have many memories of ridiculous instances that make it easy to make fun of myself.

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.

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.

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.

My first year of college I encountered an abundance of struggle. When signing up for classes I chose poorly the course load I could manage. I took many challenging courses all in one short span of time. I was not accustomed to the differences of college and high school. I started out anxious but sure I would succeed. Shortly after starting, I began to fall behind due to challenging course work and inexperience with the structure of college classes. I was unsure of where to turn for help and I felt very helpless. I believe I started to have anxiety in high school but with a strong support group I was able to flourish and had never needed to seek a mental health professional. As I started to do poorly my anxiety came to a peak. I would bawl daily unsure of where to turn. I had panic attacks every time I did a homework assignment. My mind would tell me if I get this question wrong I would get another wrong, I would do bad on the assignment, I would fail the class, then all the hard work I put in to come to WSU would be for nothing, I’d never get a career, and I’d never be able to support my son. I studied extremely hard for exams and when I got to the exam room would forget everything. I would often start to black out from the stress. I did so very terribly my first year and was given another shot my second year. I sought out a mental health professional and was diagnosed and given ways to cope with my anxiety. I was in better contact with my advisor and began to attend

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.

Well my first semester of college is nearly about to wrap up and I gained a ton of new knowledge that will last me a life time. It was just seven months ago that I graduated high school after twelve long years of public school. Now, it’s been seven months officially being on my own and being an adult where I need to take on new responsibilities in my life. There have been new obstacles, new strategies to overcome those obstacles, and new outcomes to these challenges.

My first year as a Higher Education Student in NUC had different experiences. I would describe some as exciting and life giving. Similarly, other experiences were challenging and disappointing. It was difficult to adapt in a new academic environment. I found it tough but life was not devoid of fun too. Meeting friends with different personalities made it possible for me to face academic life at NUC.

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

describing your purpose for being in college, your educational experience, motivation and attitudes toward learning, your strengths, weaknesses, and academic/career goals.

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

Coming from a small town high school, I knew that my experience at the University would be a game changer. But, what I did not expect to go from being the best of the best in high school to thinking how am I going to survive not only this semester but, the next seven years of my life as well. I was a star student at my high school and I didn’t really have to try to make good grades, but here at the University of Memphis I am barely on the same level of the average student. I never seriously study in high school and I almost always procrastinated on my assignments, but always did well. I have learned that these habits will not work in college, but I have yet to brake them. I know my learning styles and always have and nobody knows me better than me, but I am still fumbling around trying to grasp this whole college thing. I have my goals that I want to accomplish at the university, my personal goals, and my story that I want to leave behind all in line and set up, but struggle with finding the right path to make those goals a reality. My experience as a college student as opened my eyes to a completely different way to approach education and I must evaluate and adjust myself to insure that I am successful, so I can reach each and every one of the goals I set for myself.