By far the thing I’m most excited about is getting to be on my own and have freedom for the first time. I know it’ll be challenging adjusting to a new lifestyle, but it isn’t anything that I can’t handle. My only real commitment other than my classes right now is the Health Professions LLC; however, I am considering joining clubs as well. So far I spend about 4 hours in the gym each week, have at least two days dedicated to only homework, and I use the rest of my time depending on how school is going and what my friends are up to. In high school, I participated in a lot of extracurriculars: theatre, choir, orchestra, volleyball, lacrosse, equality club, spirit club, and operation smile. This semester I plan to figure out which clubs interest me the most before I decide to add any more things to my schedule. 

My intended major is nursing because it is simply something I’m passionate about. For the longest time, I actually wanted to be a cosmetologist and I got very good at makeup, hair, nails, skincare, etc. Then one day I realized that nursing is what I needed. My biggest fear is leaving this world without making people feel special and cared about. You can help people in most careers, but the people who lack this compassion from others the most in our country are women of color. They’ve been denied proper care throughout all of American history, especially when we take a look at Gynecology and Obstetrics. I want to become either a neonatal nurse, CNP, or an OB/GYN, but all with the exact same goal. I want to make every woman or person who comes to me for help feel welcomed, heard, understood, and cared for. I may not have a lot of experience yet, but I did take an Introduction to Health and Medical Sciences class, which got cut short by the beginning of the pandemic. In the next 5 years, I should have graduated from nursing school, working, and I should have decided whether or not to go further into Medical School. It will be an extreme challenge, but I have worked for this and I can keep working towards my next goal. 

One difference between high school and college that I have noticed is that very little work is actually done in class. Classes are meant more for lectures and note-taking. Homework to me is completing assignments and turning them in, whereas studying is taking notes in a format so I actually process and learn the information. The class I will spend the most time studying for is American Past because I get assigned a couple of reading to take notes in every class. Right now Sociology is a close second because we take notes before class in order to understand the lecture. However, Chemistry will probably catch up soon since that’s the subject I struggle the most with and it’ll be crucial later on. Statistics definitely requires some time to do homework, but always under an hour because I’m very good at math. Health 101 takes the least amount of time because our assignments so far have been fairly easy for me. I study pretty well at my desk in my dorm, but later on, I may study in the library more as chemistry gets more difficult. I’m worried about studying anywhere more public because I get distracted very easily in new settings, but I will probably need to start working on that anyway. The best time for me to study is in the afternoon because I’m awake, but I can still go out and have fun after. So far I’ve been very successful when I just sit at my desk, turn on music, and never let myself stay on one thing for too long.