My Life In College

College can completely change people’s lives, but not everyone has the same motivation or purpose. Some people may want to experience higher levels of thinking, want to be challenged, and become responsible. While others may justThere are many reasons why I am interested on attending college, the most essential reasons are because I have been inspired by my family to become a highly educated person, and to pursue my dream career of an elementary teacher.

I have chosen to spend the next four years of my life in college simply because I want to have a steady job and be successful throughout the course of my life. By going to college I can refine my skills in the area of work in which I would like to pursue. College is a good experience because you can meet people from a large variety of places and cultures. You also learn life lessons about living under a roof where your parents aren’t there to do everything for you.

Welcome to the “playground of unregulated freedom” (Delbanco, 19) that is college. These institutions all have a purpose in forming an individual. Some take their years in college to discover who they are, to gain independence, or to simply complete their degree. My personal experience thus far during my collegiate career has been to focus on following my passion. I have taken my love of athletics, and interest in the human body as a way to motivate myself through school with the end goal of receiving a doctoral degree. Given that my first year of college was full of hardships that caused questions as to whether an education was truly worthwhile, I am here as a sophomore stepping out of my comfort zone daily to pursue my passion.

Why am I in college? For the love of kids! While I have always loved being around kids, never would I have imagined my adult life would be centered on raising children and I would be attending college for that very reason. You see, when I was young, college was never really discussed in our family. Although my mother was the valedictorian when she graduated high school, she never attended college. My father attended classes when I was a child, however, never earned a degree. As it turned out school never was my forte; I did just the bare minimum to pass and graduate. However, a friend talked me into taking a college class my senior year, but with my parents living paycheck to paycheck the cost of classes were my responsibility, and I just didn’t have the drive to pursue my education any further. My dream was to continue working in the corporate world, marry and start a family.

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.

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 have made many mistakes in my lifetime. I have struggled, I have stumbled and I have fallen Still, I refuse to let my past define me. I refuse to let my experiences bring me to my demise.

I expect this year to be difficult. I come from a small town and UNCC is huge in comparison, and not just in terms of population. The space between my dorm in Witherspoon and the Student Union is about the length of my hometown’s main street. To say I am experiencing culture shock is an understatement. I want this year to be fun, be enjoyable, but I know it is going to be hard, especially during the first semester. There is a steep learning curve to even being here, not even considering classes, just being here, just getting here, it has been and will continue to be a challenge. I have never been away from home for more than two weeks at a time and this past Friday marked my first two weeks here. I have never felt more homesick. My family is trying to help, but I am a first-generation college student and we are all in the dark as to how I am supposed to scale this mountain. I am only here because of the generosity of others and hours of hard work. I spent middle school and high school with my nose pressed into books, understanding that I would never be talented enough for an athletic scholarship. In my spare time I worked, worked because my family did not have enough money to send me anywhere. I earned scholarships and I got here and I knew that college was going to be hard academically, and that I would have to work, but even before the real work has begun I have been slapped in the face by something much worse, loneliness.

College is many things. It may be a new beginning, perhaps it's the next step after high school, or it could be a huge culture shock. For me it was always just the next step. I never had to worry myself about what life was going to be like after high school because I knew that I was going to be furthering my education, and going to college. Ever since I started elementary school it seems as if all I’ve been working towards is going to college. So it was always a given that I would go to college, there was no question about it. I know that not everyone is as lucky as I am to get the opportunity to go to college. Whether it’s because they couldn’t afford it, didn’t make it into a college, or just didn't want to go to school anymore. I know not everyone I come in contact with will have the same experience as me or anything close for that matter. A few things that I have really noticed so far about myself and being in college are my studying skills or lack of, my ability to pay for college/ not having a job, and my preparedness for college. These are three cultural locations that ill will be addressing throughout the paper.

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.

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 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

I believe that the main struggle that I will face in college is becoming accustomed to a new way of life. Growing up in a small rural town in central New Jersey, I realized my area was not an accurate representation of the “real” world. Adapting to a new setting is a challenge that I am excited to take on and overcome. Additionally, the course load will vary from the one that I am used to. I was briefly exposed to this course load in a different environment during my summer exchange program at Oxford University, and I am excited to return to the rigorous courses. Most people would be nervous for the complete change to their life, but all I feel is the eagerness to begin my college experience and continue my growth and learning.

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.