Mid-Semester Reflection

  1. Classes I am doing well in would include English, health professions, history, and sociology. My favorite and best class grade would have to be English. I have always done well in these classes through my high school years. Though some assignments are more difficult than others I have received help from tutors and perrs. On my learning assessment at the beginning of the year I identified that I would need to work on my study habits and keep distractions away from me. Some changes I have made include I now go to tutoring for many of my classes for extra help, I put my phone away while doing my work and I have gotten together in study groups with many of my peers.
  2. My expectations coming into college is that I knew it was going to be hard but I did not think this hard. I definitely knew it was going to be a change because I come from a very small hometown and high school. So far I have adapted very well to the life part but the work has been very stressful. Some parts of me have become frustrated just because I feel like I am trying so hard but yet my hardest is still not good enough. So far my college experience has been very good, I’ve met so many new people and done so many new things around Norfolk. Something that has surprised me about my experience so far is how nice people can be. At first I was afraid to talk to people because I didn’t know how they would respond but people I thought would be mean have turned out so nice. I live on campus and my toughest challenge moving away from home was definitely leaving my little brother. He is by far my best friend so it was very hard to leave him. My easiest challenge to overcome was how small the bed is. At first I was very annoyed because it is tiny but after making it comfy I got used to it.
  3. Something I have learned about my major that I now know would have to be how hard it actually is to get into the nursing program. I knew it was going to be difficult but after being shown the grade you have to have I knew I was going to have to really work hard if I want to get in. A few times a week I have mixed feelings about changing my major but then I think back to the fact that I know that I can do it if I really want it. Sometimes I get thoughts like I’m not smart enough, or I won’t have the grade or gpa to get in. I tend to talk to my mom about these thoughts and she stays reminding me that I can do it. One subject that I would be interested in learning about if I were to change majors would be interior design. I have always been interested in design/ decorating so I feel like I would really like it as a second choice.
  4. One problem I have encountered this semester has been with a teacher. My chemistry lab TA and I definitely did not click this semester which is okay because I know that, that can happen. Some resources I used were tutoring with my chemistry lab instructor, office hours and khan academy. Someone who has really helped me this semester has been my chemistry Lab instructor. Professor McCoy has been so helpful to me this semester in helping me understand material, learn things in a new way and what I could do about the problem with my TA. One club meeting I have been to so far this year has been for the Global Brigades Club here on campus. They are a nursing based club and the meeting I attended they were talking about the mission trips they have planned for this summer based around providing medical care to small communities in less fortunate countries. I decided to get involved in this club because I felt it was a really good way to get even more involved with the nursing community here as well as more medical field experience.