Year 1
Year-in-Review
It feels like just yesterday I had just arrived at my dorm for the first time. I still remember what it was like to wave goodbye to my parents, knowing that at that moment, I was opening a new, more independent chapter of my life. I met many people during Welcome Weekend who would become good friends throughout the year, and many more still whom I never saw again. The blur of activities and free food sits favorably in my memory. Just a blink of the eyes later, winter break had arrived. I was going home again, happy for the break from class, but sad to say goodbye to the campus that had become my home over the past few months. Before I knew it, I was back for spring semester. Then, another quick blink later, it was time to leave for the summer.
Looking back on my first year, I realize how much I have learned. While I certainly did quite a bit of studying and learned plenty about physics, chemistry, and calculus, I learned much more than the academics. I learned how to live minimalistically with little space. My dorm room this past year was as small as small gets. It was just big enough to fit a bed, desk, and closet while still being able to open the door. I could barely fit everything I needed into my room, let alone other nonessential items I wish I could have had. I played the saxophone in high school, and I planned on bringing it with me to play for fun, but there was no space in my dorm. I couldn’t keep a lot of extra clothing or stock up on many snacks because there simply wasn’t room. I learned to live in my own space, however. Now that I have moved back home to my normal sized bedroom, sometimes I wonder how I ever lived in my “closet room” as my family took to calling it. I have a new appreciation for space, but an even deeper understanding of efficient use of space. While it might not seem like a noble skill, I learned to live in the space given to me, which I think will prove handy later, as I cannot predict what kind of living situation I will have in the future.
If I could change one thing about my freshman year, it would be to find some way to not have a meal plan. I did not enjoy any of the food at CenterCourt. I prefer a diet of whole grains and fresh fruit, so the fried, greasy food did not appeal to me. I understand the reasoning behind requiring freshmen to have a meal plan, but I also did not enjoy the food that was served. I just feel that it was a huge waste of money for me to invest in a meal plan to get food that I don’t even like. While I cannot reverse time to figure a way out of that freshman meal plan, I can take this knowledge into the future and save myself from future unhappiness by sticking with my resolve to never buy another meal from CenterCourt.
Thinking ahead to this upcoming year, I am going to warn myself about spending too much time studying. Sometimes, I think that I get too wrapped up in studying and being ahead that I forget to go have fun. Taking breaks will help keep me from getting burned out of working too hard on my school work and also allow me to make the most out of my college experience.
Next year, it is my goal to find a community service project that I truly enjoy. Last year, I tutored kids from the nearby school district to get my service hours completed. It was not horrible work, but I have found that tutoring is not something I feel passionate about. I want to find a community service project that I can invest myself in 100% and feel happy while I do it.
I grew so much during my first year at college, and I hope to continue growing in the future. Right now, I still feel like a kid. It still makes me uncomfortable sometimes realizing that technically, I’m an adult. I’ll turn 20 in less than two months, and I don’t at all feel like I should be given any great responsibility. I am not one to wish my life away, but I do feel sometimes that I should feel more comfortable with the idea of viewing myself as an adult with adult-like responsibilities such as owning a car, working a full time job, paying my own bills, etc. In the fall, I will start my first co-op rotation. While this position will not be my first job, it will be my first “real” job that is related to my prospective engineering career. I am hopeful that having this job and the responsibilities associated with it will help me to feel more like an adult.
I had a fantastic first year at college, and I am looking forward to see what will happen next in my adventure.