One Semester Down, Several More To Go

Who would’ve thought that I’d learn so much in college? More than just what I learned in the classroom? As a college student, I think I’ve learned quite a bit about myself. In the beginning, I had somewhat high expectations for myself to start out on a high point and for me to go out and experience some of the many new things being in college has to offer. In some ways, that did happen, but not to the extent or the expectation that I had set. Some of the goals I set, were a bit on the unrealistic side.   As far as my place in the learning process, I feel I’m on the border between Creativity and Autonomy. I refrained from seeking out help as much as I could, so I could gain a bit of independence.

There have been many challenges that I’ve been faced with this semester alone, such as having a class that is entirely essay oriented, getting used to doing more work outside of class than in class and the amount of work, dealing with myself and the transition to college, and of course dealing with horrendous procrastination. I think I’ve overcome a couple of my biggest challenges this semester, but I could still do with working on improving some of them. When it came to a class that was basically essays, I was scared to say the least. Essays aren’t my strong point. Apparently, I proved myself wrong with the essays I’ve written for this class. These essays have been better than the ones I would write in high school, and I really don’t know how that happened. The workload outside of the classroom, while I consider that a challenge that I had to overcome, I fell into it pretty easily. Considering I didn’t have much homework at all throughout high school, it felt somewhat normal for me to have homework every night. It gave me something to do. But as the semester got winding down, I found it harder to concentrate. As for me, it’s been a rockier road than I expected, and I made it to the end alive with just a tiny bit of motivation. Procrastination is still a huge problem for me, and it’s something that will take a while to correct.

So far, my biggest achievement has been making it through my first semester of college alive. When I first started, I was confident that I would do well in all of my classes and not get swamped with demands and the work. I am not that same confident person now, although I was able to stay on top of my classes and work, it took a toll on me as a person.  My ability to easily procrastinate didn’t help me, but I still procrastinated and it shows. I think knowing that I survived, is enough motivation to keep me going. There weren’t many habits that I had adopted this semester to help me achieve these goals, doing well in school and the habits I developed there are what helped me through this semester.  I do think that I got better at completing homework assignments and projects though.  I relied quite a bit on myself and other classmates instead of using available resources to me.  Personally, I found help using counseling services.  This kept me going, and staying on track. For next semester, I could make use of the writing and tutorial centers. I’m sure if I used them this semester, my papers would’ve been a lot better.

Coming to college, time management was not my friend. I wasn’t very good at it. As the semester went on, I found myself getting better and better at it. I had adopted the use of post-it note to-do lists, and they seemed to help me out a bit. Being able to see everything you had to get done, made them a little easier to do. Most of my time went into getting little tasks done, and being sidetracked quite easily. When it came time for essays and projects, I was able to get them done easier when I planned out what to write and just focus solely on that one task.

My grades overall were really good.  I found that I got the grades I deserve, and it’s easy to tell which classes I put the most effort into and where I slacked off. Mostly B’s, a couple A’s, generally the grades I expected. I don’t feel that I’ve learned much. Whatever material we covered, was usually gone after a test or a quiz. If I’m not interested in a subject, or somewhat good with it, more than likely I won’t retain much information. A semester is not long enough to fulfill everything that was expected as seen by the syllabuses I was given. If anything, there was a lot of rushed material, skipped sections, and unfinished sections as well. This was especially true in my Intro to Psychology class; there was too much material to cover in too little time.

Personal goals are things that I decided to put on the backburner for the first semester this way I could get used to my schedule and the workload that came along with it. I wrapped myself up in it so much that I didn’t make time for myself to achieve any personal goals. I don’t believe that I’m anywhere near where I wanted to be personally, whereas academically, I am. That has become one of my items on my list of things to accomplish next semester. I’ll be taking classes that interest me, and I can begin working on some of the personal goals that I have or yet to have set.

From this point right now, I’m working towards one goal; doing really well, earning all of my credits, and then it’s off to England for me. Knowing that I’m but one or two semesters away from reaching my ultimate dream is a bit overwhelming and very much exciting. In order for me to get to that point, I have to keep doing well and making sure that I get everything done. I’m confident in myself that I will be able to do these things. In upcoming semesters, I can improve on little things like participation and seeking out help with homework and essays.  Next semester, I want to work on being more outgoing and explore what the Southern campus has to offer. Instead of focusing only on academics, I want to get out there more and get involved. There are already a few clubs that I have in mind that I want to be a part of such as Active Minds and Colleges Against Cancer, I’m hoping that I will be able to be involved in both of these and make for a good second semester.