Study Habits

Overall my classes are not too bad, but there are definitely some that have caused me slight stress. Chemistry is the class I’m struggling in the most as of now, and I can blame that on not paying attention in class. Being that it is a bigger class size and the class is in a theater type room makes it very easy to get side tracked. I never thought the class size or type of seating would affect my learning, but it’s clear it has. While my sociology class has nearly 93 people, the professor makes the class engaging, and he also doesn’t allow technology use in class. So it’s a lot easier to pay attention and take notes.  Chemistry isn’t a very engaging subject in my opinion. Before a chemistry test I try to cram as much information as possible. My teacher does provide practice for the exam, so I’ll go through that a couple of times and watch youtube videos on the necessary topics. Despite doing that, I still perform poorly on the exams. It is clear that something needs to change in my study habits for chemistry class, being that it is a required class for my major. I can use the resources provided to me such as the science tutor lab or my teachers office hours for extra assistance. 

Surprisingly the class I’m doing the best in is Statistics. I took stats my junior year of high school and I wasn’t able to retain any of the information whatsoever, so I was expecting the same in college. My teacher is very good at her job and provides extra practice problems for each chapter we go through. It is clear my teacher understands the information, she hardly ever makes mistakes while teaching us, which allows me to clearly understand what she is saying. As previously stated she provides a lot of extra practice so I voluntarily take time to do those problems because I actually enjoy the class. Math has always been my favorite subject so naturally I have more patience to learn it. 

As for my other classes such as sociology, history, and chem lab, those classes are okay. Chemistry Lab can be annoying sometimes because the labs take a long time and are confusing at parts. The dynamic of my chemistry lab makes the class a little more manageable. History is just a load of reading and discussion posts at once. The discussions or readings aren’t challenging, it just takes you having good time management, which isn’t a big problem. I spoke on sociology already, overall I enjoy the class and am doing pretty well in it. 

Transition to College  

In my pre semester reflection I spoke about being excited to be on my own and have some real sense of independence. But as time has gone I’m starting to feel the independence too much, financially mainly. People were not kidding when they would say that I would be a “broke college student”, I have not enjoyed living up to that saying. With my schedule I’m not able to work so it is something that I just have to cope with. But other than being broke, I’ve learned important life skills since moving away from my family. I have learned how to solve problems on my own and answer my own questions. 

Coming to college I really wanted to come out of my shell and make more friends, but that has been something I’ve struggled with since coming here. I used to be a social butterfly but once the pandemic hit I became really isolated from others. I don’t have a problem talking with people, I just struggle with actually going out and coming out of my room. College is all about the experience and right now I haven’t been experiencing much. For the rest of this semester I am going to prioritize making friends and really feeling the “college experience”. 

Major 

Being that I am an intended nursing major I already knew coming in that it was a very competitive program however I didn’t realize how many intended nursing majors there were. Almost every person I talk to tells me that they are a nursing major. Which means I have to work really hard to build a competitive application. I still want to go through with nursing however I am interested in minoring in exercise science. The idea of being a physical therapist sounds cool or even a personal trainer since I enjoy going to the gym. Since I’m struggling in Chemistry class it is making me nervous because I know it’s just the beginning of the many science classes that I will need to pass in order to be eligible for the nursing program. Moving forward I need to study better and work harder so I can have confidence applying for the nursing program. 

Connection to Campus 

I would say my biggest problem this semester has been asking for help, I’ve just been allowing myself to struggle alone instead of utilizing the resources provided. ODU provides multiple tutor services for each subject as well as teachers having office hours, that could help me out. I haven’t attended any club interest meetings, however I have looked through campus groups and some clubs have sparked my interest. Such as: pre-health club, global brigades and more. I do want to eventually join a few clubs to make connections and learn new things.