On a daily basis I spend an average of at least three to five hours on homework or studying so I spend around twenty five hours a week outside of class preparing and reviewing for my classes. I believe my grades reflect the amount of time I study because I am doing well in all of my classes; on the sociology midterm I got a 97.5 percent, and on my precalculus  exam I got a 104 percent. If I need to spend more time in any of my classes I would say it would be chemistry, because I find it difficult but I have still been doing well in the class, so I think that the amount of time I spend is a good amount of time for me. I mostly study in the Webb or at the library so that I’m out of my room. I find myself getting more distracted when I study in my room or in a friends room by my phone or just being in my comfortable space and talking to people. I get a majority of my work done in the late morning and early afternoon because I am awake and alert but my ADHD meds have not worn off. I can do work at night because I am a night person but I guess I have more focus earlier in the afternoon.

I have not really tried new study techniques this semester because I figured out what worked for me in high school so I have just been using those techniques. I have a very specific way of taking my notes that helps me. I also listen and read along when I have to do readings and I go to spaces that are away from my friends and away from people where I do not get as distracted. This varies slightly from class class because not all of my classes have an online textbook that can do audio readings so for the classes that don’t have audio readings on their E textbooks I make sure I’m in a quiet space when I have to read so I can focus on the reading.

Now that we’re halfway through the semester and I’m settled into college life I would say that college is not what I fully expected. It’s a lot easier than I expected for classwork and managing my time. While professors don’t give you quite as many reminders as high school teachers did, professors still remind you of upcoming assignments. My favorite part about being on campus is that I have a sense of independence,I don’t have to ask permission before I go places I can just go, I get to hang out with my friends whenever I want, and I get to make a lot more choices for myself. I would say the toughest challenge about being away at school would be missing my dogs and not getting to see my mom every day or have her cooking.

The first problem I had on campus was finding friends, because most of my friends from back home I’ve had since kindergarten. I used the sorority that I pledged to find friends to hang out with and connect to. I have found that my advisers both before and after I switched my major were very helpful in my decision to switch my major from public health to exercise science. My new friends have been very helpful in getting me connected and having a sense of belonging on campus. I went through formal fall recruitment for joining a sorority, so that I could have more friends on campus, and have the experience of being involved in Greek life. I am very glad that I did because I found a whole new family who is welcoming and accepting of me.