My Experience In College

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.

College is a great place to grow as a person, but you have to plan out what you will do in order to have the greatest experience possible. Without having a plan you will not be able to go forward with great confidence that you have made all of the right choices in college. This means you should not party and make bad decisions that will ruin your chances at making a great career out of your time and money that is going in for your education. I believe that you should not be part of the crowd that is only at school to party and to has fun, I believe that you should join a group that will help with your education and that you can still have a good time with. You should also have great relationships with your professors in order for you to go to them and talk about problems or issues that you are having with the classes you are taking and maybe they can give you advice on how you could improve in the class that you are struggling in, or maybe they can just be a person to talk to. Professors are great tools for you to use to start doing the best you can possibly do with the help and guidance that only professors can give.

“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.

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.

Until the summer of my sophomore year, I was unquestionably shy. I was the kid whose raised hand lifted four inches off the table and who slouched over her sketches of strangers. That summer, I was forced to change.

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.

During my first week as a freshman in college, I was still wondering if I had made the right choice for myself. Intrigued if the major I had chosen was right for me, I decided to attend a workshop strictly for product design students. I wanted to meet people in my major and also get a taste of what I had gotten myself into. On my way to the event, I ran into a girl with short curly hair that seemed lost and looking for a specific classroom. I asked her if she was a freshman and, relieved, she replied that she was, wondering if it was my first time in that maze of a building too. The URBN Center is the building where all the design classes are, and accordingly, it has an intricate system of half floors that is eye-pleasing yet confusing to get around.

Imagine yourself on the very first day of school. Entering a new environment with many new people. The thought of making new friends was exciting. On the other hand, many were afraid to step into the classroom. A fear of what was to come lingered in their mind. Being shy is common among children and is often overcome with experience. As the youngest of the family, I was very shy. I had older siblings to look up to that would do the things that I feared most. However, going to school was an experience that would encourage me to open myself up to others, which was what I had feared most.

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 wasn’t quite what I was expected. My classes turned out to not be overly stressful or difficult. I liked all of them, started martial arts again, had my first job, and am ready for the next semester. I was pleasantly surprised that I adjusted relatively easily to the greater independence going to college afforded me and that I think I am relatively well-prepared to continue with my undergraduate years. I’ve learned that I still have issues with managing my time efficiently, I still feel psychology is the right degree for me, and that I have a lot of things I want to study and not as much time as I had believed to study them.

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

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.

Now to recount my college chapter I would have to say that it didn’t end so successfully. I began as a freshman at the University of Washington-Bothell (UWB) campus. There I followed the general path all freshmen went through; completing their prerequisites and adjusting to college life. I was like many students, still unsure of what I wanted to pursue in college but a key factor of college is exploration. However, as the year went by I slowly started to notice that the vision I had of attending this college was not what I expected. I felt that the courses laid out to freshman weren’t beneficial as they combined the essential disciplines of say math, history, English, and science into one class they like to call ‘Discovery Core’. Of course, you are selected to choose a pre-major of your choice where you would be taking the classes you’ll need to complete the set of requirements for that major. At the time I was thinking about going into the STEM field as it was something I enjoyed doing during high school. I took the beginning series of Computer Science and going into the class it wasn’t a problem it was the end of the quarter that caught me off guard; the finals.

My mother once asked me what college I wanted to attend after high school and where I saw myself in the future. These questions had been brought up the night before my first day as a freshman at Waiakea High. Seeing as I was still, at the time, a naive prepubescent teen, I just stood there dumbstruck, with a blank expression on my face. One could say I looked like a deer in the headlights. After the initial shock of the unexpected question passed, I first felt overwhelmed and flustered because I had no idea how to respond, and then I became concerned. Concerned because I knew my academic skills were subpar and there was no way I would make Division 1 Cross Country on scholarship. I felt as though I was in a hole. “Maybe I’ll just go across the street,” I replied referring to UH Hilo in a jokingly manner.We continued to talk for a while longer, but the thing that she said that sticks with me till this day was, “Aim higher, I know you can do better if you try.” Looking back on it, I can say that I was afraid. Afraid of wanting to dream high and end up failing in the end.

After I graduated High School, I moved to Logan, Utah to pursue my Bachelors at Utah State University. This move was actually quite easy. My mom drove down with me to help me move into my apartment and all of my belongings easily fit between our two cars. About halfway through the semester, everything kind of fell apart. I hated my program, I didn’t like the atmosphere of the university and I wanted out. It was not anything like I was hoping, and I decided I was definitely not going to stay. However, I wanted to finish out the semester and tie up all my loose ends before I transferred. After a couple weeks of heavy research, hours on the phone, and lots and lots of emails, I was set to transfer to Boise State University located in Boise, Idaho.