Heading off to college was very bitter, sweet, and nerve-wracking for me due to the fact that I am so close to my mom. However, to achieve my goals, it’s what had to be done. I am looking forward to a few aspects of college, including meeting new people, getting closer to my dream major, learning how to deal with the “big girl world” and, overall, bettering myself. Along with having things to look forward to, there are also things that I am going to struggle with over the semester, and college as a whole. First, living on my own and not having my mom with me physically through all the hardships I may face. Secondly, throughout high school, I was a huge procrastinator, even when I tried to “fix it” and stop being one. I am hoping college will allow me to have better time management. Third, I become very stressed when it comes to grades, school work, and homework. I am hoping that this semester will go with ease, but I have a tendency to get overwhelmed very easily. Lastly, as much as I want to make new friends, that is not one of my strong suits. I am a super shy person if I don’t know you, and I don’t tend to talk to people that I don’t know, or even talk aloud in class. I am hoping that college helps me overcome and move past all of these challenges that I have faced in the past. 

This semester, I am taking a break from working for the sole purpose of school getting most if not all of my attention. I am living in an apartment off campus, so I have some responsibilities other than school, like cleaning the apartment, grocery shopping, taking out the trash, etc. Those aren’t super time-consuming tasks, so my focus will be on school. I plan to balance these tasks and school by being more organized, and do “chores” when my brain needs a break from school work.

In high school, I was not super involved, which I now regret when I think about. I played lacrosse my freshman year, but got taken out for good halfway through the season due to fracturing my vertebra. I have not looked into any clubs or organizations to attend at ODU yet, but I will definitely be on the lookout for them! 

I am pretty much set on my major, and do not plan on changing it anytime soon. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to help people when they are at their worst. That is why I want to major in nursing in hopes of becoming a trauma nurse one day in the near future. I am currently a CNA. I worked at an assisted living home throughout my senior year of high school and plan to continue working there on school breaks. Although an assisted living facility is not where I want to work in the future, it allows me to get experience working with patients and residents. 

Personally, I think the biggest difference between high school and college is freedom. We are now considered adults and are responsible for our learning, rent, groceries, and so much more. Rather than in high school, we attended for free, and most are still living at home with their parents. The stakes are much higher now. This is the making of our future and where our dream jobs can come true. Studying and homework is definitely more tedious and requires more attention now for me. My goals are on the line; schoolwork and grades are how I am going to achieve them. In high school, I took my grades very seriously, but I definitely slacked with doing homework some nights, which cannot happen in college so I can be prepared for the lecture and/or assignments the next day. 

History is going to be the most time-consuming class. There are lots of passages to read, discussion boards, projects, exams, and assignments to do. I will admit that class is very intimidating, but I know I am capable of completing everything on time if I set aside time and use time management skills. I would say I probably have to spend anywhere from 6-10 hours a week just on history itself, which is going to be very tiresome. Sociology is a more interesting class to me compared to history, so doing the homework, notes, assignments, practice quizzes, and other assignments aren’t going to feel as much as a “task”. I can breeze through sociology material quicker than any of the other classes, so I would expect to take about 3-4 hours a week to study in that class. In my English class, we tend to do most of the work, besides reading and journal entries, in class. The journal entries take about thirty minutes, and the reading can take anywhere from thirty minutes to three hours. I would say I will have to spend 4-6 hours on my English class a week to get everything done. Introduction to chemistry is mostly an in-person schoolwork kind of class rather than a homework class. I review the notes the day before the lecture, and sometimes we have assessments or quizzes. My guess is that I will have to spend 4 hours per week going over the material that I did not understand in class. The chemistry lab is also more of an in-person experience instead of homework. I have pre-labs and post labs to complete which take about an hour or two to complete. I will only have to spend about an hour or two reviewing material and completing assignments for this class. Lastly, health professions, to me so far, seems more like a fun class rather than a class you want to get through as quickly as possible. I would guess I will have to spend about 2-3 hours per week completing assignments. 

Personally, I study best and complete assignments best in my apartment. Either in my room or in the kitchen is where I get most of my work done. I get distracted by the slightest things and have to have pretty much complete silence to be productive. If I were to do schoolwork in the library, someone even just tapping their pencil would drive me crazy and I would lose all concentration. The only downside of doing schoolwork in my apartment is that in the evening people are loud at the pool playing music, so I have to take a little mental break until it stops. I am going to plan to keep doing my work in my apartment for now, because I feel that is where I work best. I typically start homework between 5 or 6pm, after I take a mental break from all of my classes that day and complete some chores. I will usually do homework until 7pm, eat dinner, and then continue to do homework until I finish all that needs to be done. Nights where I have more work than normal, I will either start sooner, or after I eat dinner and do homework for another hour or two, I will shower and get “ready” for bed and then finish up any leftover work. 

I personally learn best by taking notes, making flashcards, and doing my reading on paper rather than reading off my computer. I use highlighters, sticky notes, and color coordinate my classes to help me stay on top of everything. I keep a planner of all the due dates, assignments, readings, and other important information. I am not a verbal learner by any means, so usually after my lectures I have to review the information and my notes to fully understand and retain the information. If I hear something, I will usually forget it, so I try to stay on top of my learning by doing a lot of reviewing after class as part of my “homework”. 

I am really looking forward to this new chapter in my life. With lots of things that can go wrong in the back of my head, I am trying to stay optimistic and on top of things. I am excited for this class, getting to know more about my intended major, meeting new people, and coming closer to my goal of becoming a trauma nurse.