Considering your Pre-Semester Reflection, identify the changes you have made between the start of the semester and now, and how you are going to continue working on areas that you are struggling.
Study Habits What classes are you doing well in, and why? – I’m doing pretty well in art. It’s one of my favorite classes currently. I really enjoy this class because it allows me to be able to express myself freely through writing, perspective, etc. What classes did you identify as needing assistance in? I would say most. I’m still having a pretty hard time adjusting with my classes. The main issue is me not being able to stay on track with assignments sometimes and also just my organizational skills. What changes have you made (i.e. amount of time, location, campus resources, study strategies, etc…)? I have made a few changes by changing my sleep schedule a bit. I’ve been going to sleep earlier and this helps me with being able to get up in the morning. I’ve also been working on my procrastination. With that being said, I now try to complete my assignments at the beginning of the week. Transition to College What expectations did you have coming to college? I had expectations that life would get better. I thought that I would have all of these friends, I’d love my classes, and that I’d be so happy where I’m at but in reality, none of that has become true , at least not yet. Have those expectations come to fruition, or not? They didn’t. How? In what way is your college experience different from what you expected? It’s actually very different. Again, I thought I would have the perfect college experience, as how it is portrayed in the movies, shows, or how everyone else seems to describe it. I haven’t been able to say i’ve been there yet. What has surprised you about your experiences so far this semester? What has surprised me the most would be me not being as excited as I thought. Before coming to college, I had very high expectations, plans, clubs that i’d join in mind, etc but I think now that reality has set in, a lot of things have changed. It’s not an easy transition and I wish I would’ve prepared myself a bit more but my whole motto is that things take time. If you live on campus: What has been your toughest challenge with moving away to college? Easiest challenge to overcome? My toughest challenge with moving away to college is not being able to see my dad and boyfriend everyday. Sometimes, when my boyfriend has football games, I’m not able to attend due to distance and it does affect me but I knew that this would be a challenge before we graduated high school. OR If you commute to class: What is the toughest challenge with commuting to campus? Easiest challenge to overcome? N/A. Major Name something you have learned about your intended major that you did not know at the beginning of the semester. I learned that only a set amount of people get accepted into the program. At first, I believed that everyone would get in automatically. Have your feelings changed about your intended major? List some thoughts you are having. Partially, yes. With me struggling currently, It’s making me question if I’m worthy enough for this particular field or major. I’m just having a hard time trying to figure out what’s for me and what isn’t. Is there another subject (major or minor) that you are interested in learning more about? Maybe Criminal Justice. I find it interesting but I’m not exactly sure if this field is meant for me either. Connecting to Campus Name one problem or challenge you have encountered this semester, and which resource(s) at ODU you have/can utilize to assist with this situation. One challenge I have encountered this semester is being able to manage decent grades. This ties into me not having the best time management skills and having a hard time staying focused (also my mental health) but I think just having more assistance from my advisor would help. Is there a friend, roommate, professor, advisor, or group in the ODU community who has helped you so far this semester? If so, how did they help you? Yes! Ms.Boyette has been so helpful, even before we stepped on campus. She’s always attentive to everything, responds to emails fast, is very understanding, etc. I adore and appreciate her a lot because she’s been there , even when my advisor wasn’t. Although Ms.Boyette isn’t my advisor, I consider her as it because she’s the only one who has truly helped me. Also, my cousin Makayla has been a huge help, just by giving me words of encouragement when I needed it the most. Have you attended an interest meeting for a club? Why did you decide to get involved or not get involved? I have not attended an interest meeting for a club yet but I do plan to in the future when I’m able to balance both school and other activities. Right now, my main priority is to improve my grades.