In the beginning of the semester, I wasn’t really organized and didn’t have a really good study habits. I was also anxious to go to the library alone. Now I have a planner and write down all my assignments due dates. I also now go to the library all the time by myself, and study by myself. I take notes, make flashcards, and review information. My expectations this year was that I would be hanging out with my same friends from high school, do alright in my classes, and be afraid that I would be homesick too much. However, this semester’s experiences exceeded my expectations. Academically, I retained a lot of information, and my classes showed me my strengths and weaknesses, like my procrastination. For my personal life, I have never been happier. I have great friends, a great roommate and an awesome boyfriend. Something I wish I knew 14weeks ago is how doable college is. People can make it seem scary and stressful, but if you stay on top of your assignment’s college can be a rewarding experience. At the beginning of the semester, I usually spent around 30 minutes to 1 hour. Now I usually spend about 2 hours or more studying. My study habits changed because I used to study alone, but now I study more in groups. A resource I learned about this semester is the writing center. I didn’t take an English class this semester, but next class I’m taking a literature class, so I will probably utilize the writing center at the library. Study habits and techniques I will use going into next semester are note taking, highlighting, making flashcards, and going to the library often. The way my courses were tied together is that in some way they all connected the idea of the social determinants of health. In sociology we learned more in depth about this topic and how the conditions in the environments where people live can affect their health and quality of life In chemistry an interesting way professor Mccoy tied this idea with chemistry is using the example of what happened in Flint Michigan. One of the living learning communities that was beneficial to me was the painting one. I liked how we used art to display ideas of the social determinants, and it was actually also a really great de-stressor.