Final Thoughts as a First Year College Student

There are only about two more weeks left for the semester to be completely over. My first year in college went by completely fast! There are some people out there who make college sound like it is a nightmare and it is so stressful. Yes, there are times when college could get a bit stressful all due to exams and finals, but overall college is not all that bad. When people from back home or just in general ask me what college is like and if it is difficult. My reply is usually, “no college is not hard all you have to do is be on top of your work”. Being one out of five siblings, and actually completing one full year at a CSU actually motivates me to graduate, and if I continue to keep pushing through I will be the first in my entire family to graduate with a bachelor's. I am not gonna lie there have been multiple times throughout the year where I thought about dropping out of school. I think most people coming into their first year of college have those doubts if whether or not they should actually be here. I always kept telling myself to just finish the year and then I will see what will happen, and as I look back at it now I just feel like it was just the stress talking at the time. But like I said before college is not all that bad, you just have moments where you want to give up, but you shouldn’t, and you should just keep moving forward.

Packing Up

Most of my weekends I have spent getting essays and presentations done, and I feel like finally for one weekend I can finally just step back and breathe for a bit. Since I have completed my presentations and the majority of my essays, all I have to do is fix up a few essays and do a couple of finals and it is all over. The only thing that I don’t like about the semester being over in a few weeks is that I will have to pack up all my stuff again and move out of the dorms. I feel like when I first moved in I did not have much stuff, but as time went on I slowly started bringing more stuff and now I have to pack it all up. I am not trying to think about it as much, but as I go home next week I am going to try and take a few things back with me, like stuff that I don’t need to use for the remaining weeks that are left. I think it is better that if you live in the dorms to slowly start taking things back home, if it is possible just so that  it will not be as much of a hassle trying to pack everything up at once and having housing equipment be checked out and all being used at the same time. So, I think that is my goal for this weekend, since I only have a few essays to tweak and clean up. I am going to try and sort out the things that I am going to be taking home with me and start storing some of my stuff away.

Being Productive

This weekend I was very productive, and I am actually proud that I got some things done on time that I had planned to do. I met up with some members of my communications group and worked on our presentation together and figured out what we were going to do and say during our presentation, we did that for a few hours. Then I worked on other essays that I needed to get done for this week. I have a total of five essays that are due this week. I feel like that what it is just going to be for this last month that we have left. It is just going to be a bunch of essays, exams, and presentations. It’s going to be tiring and stressful, but we are almost done, or at least that’s what I keep telling myself. I feel like when you begin to feel overwhelmed with school work you just need to step back and do something else, so you can take a break from all the stress you are feeling. That is what I did this weekend I had so many essays but, I would go swimming or to the gym for a few hours. The only thing I would not do was watch Netflix, because one I watch an episode on Netflix I don’t just watch one episode I just keep watching it and I will never get back to doing the previous things I was doing. So I avoided watching Netflix this weekend and, it actually helped out a lot. So when you are feeling overwhelmed go out and take a breather and then come back to it with more energy, so you can get it done.

Last Minute Work

As the days begin counting down the more of the workload I see start stacking up. Over the weekend I was suppose to complete two essays, finish a presentation, study for an exam I had today, and do a journal for my group discussion class. Like I stated before, I was suppose to do it, I just never did. I was going to do it on Friday but, then I thought “hey, I have two whole days to do it since I won’t be going home this weekend”. Since, I only had one class Monday and it was cancelled, I did both my essays. Essays are time consuming, especially two so I spent the whole day on my essays with an occasional breaks in between. And this morning I skimmed through the reading material that the exam was based on and, I ended up only getting one question incorrect. I also finished my presentation and presented today and, it turned out well and I did my journal. To top it all off the professor let us out two hours earlier since, presentations finished quickly. Now I’m not saying to do everything last minute, because everything will turn out completely fine like my situation but, maybe it won’t, and I just got lucky is all. But I think it is just better to do your school work when you say you are, so you can just get it over with. Because when I said I’ll do it later I always had that small voice in my head that kept telling me to just do it, and get done with it.

Back from Break

A week away from classes was much needed, especially for me. A few weeks before break I had a family situation arise and I felt completely drained with the whole situation. I wasn’t myself, so going back home was a must. I had a nice time back home, but the one thing I wanted to do the most was get back on track with my studying. Throughout the week I kept telling myself that I had a week off and that I should enjoy it with my family, and I will get to it the next day. Turns out I finally realised that I kept saying that till Thursday night and, quickly realised that I had not studied one bit during my spare time and most of my time the following days would be consumed by work. I don’t totally regret not studying because I am not behind I just wanted to start my assignments early so I could be ahead when I got back and I wouldn’t have to stress so much about it. But now I just have to manage my time more wisely is all. Now that I am back, I feel more refreshed and energized and feel like I could get back into things. Even though it feels a bit odd coming back to school and starting where we left off, I feel like it will only feel like this for the first week and things will slowly start to fall back into place as the week goes on and, it will start feeling normal by next week.

Finally A Break

I am excited to go back home for a week but then again I am not. I just know for a fact the time will go by fast and, most people I know already from back home have already had there break or they are going to be returning back to school the week I go back. I am just finally ready to go home because I have been stressed out long enough and I feel like it is slowly taking a toll on my daily life. Just three more days and two more midterms and I will be able to finally go home. But I just have to keep pushing through just as many others do. The thing I hate about midterms before a break, is that it seems like professors prolong when to take midterms and pick the very last day to do it. They usually do a review the day we meet and end class early and send us home and then a few days later take the exam, which so happens to be the very last day of classes. I guess it is helpful for taking the time to study but, it is irritating because the only reason I haven’t left early like other people are is because I am waiting to take one simple exam while, my others classes are over for the most part. But no matter the reason I wish you luck on your midterms and I hope you do well and I hope you enjoy your spring break, that we so much deserve at this point.

Midterms and All

It feels like this semester of classes just barely started and now it is almost over. We only have this week and a few days next week and, then we go back on break. I guess it is a good thing but, now like everyone else, I have to deal with midterms, papers, and presentations right now. I am trying my best not to stress over it so much because, then I will not be able to put my entire focus on one thing and I will just be all over the place, stressing myself out. But I like having that feeling of turning in your last paper or exam and, all that stress you had seems to all go away. So, I am looking forward to having all my stress go away even if it is for a week, well sorta. In one of my classes instead of taking the exam before break we will have it the first day we come back from break. I have no idea why the professor is doing that. When on the last day before break when we meet we really are not doing much. I guess it gives us more time to study. I don’t really know. I feel like a whole week off gives the person a high chance to not remembering certain things and, end up forgetting things. But I am not going to really worry about that now and instead try to focus on the things I have going on now.

Relieve Stress at the Rec Center

I have started going to the rec center more often during this semester. I go to the rec center five to six times a week, excluding Tuesdays. Since, Tuesdays are my most busiest days and I have classes from 8 am to 7 pm. I feel like going to the rec center helps me relieve stress and at the end of the day I feel pretty good. I usually go to the rec center between four or five in the evening and I work out for two hours. During these times I noticed there are not that many people there, which I like because there are more machines available and, I noticed that they play better music during the weekends. This is a huge benefit I think for me because, I can not work out and listen to music because my headphones are constantly falling out. I also feel like if I concentrate more on the music that is being played I don’t really notice how tired I am getting, if that makes any sense. I went to the rec center last semester but not as often I would go about three times one week and not go until two weeks later. I have no idea why I did that and even before I had plenty of time on my hands. But now that I have a lot more classes I find time for the gym. I guess it is kind of good because at the end of the day it makes me feel good. I highly recommend if you are feeling a bit stressed you should go and work out. I mean after all it is in our tuition and you should make use of it.

Music and Studying

Last week was probably one of my busiest week I have had so far, within this semester. It is probably because I mostly had exams last week and papers to revise and turn in. When I study for exams I usually listen to music on full blast through my headphones and, I find it so helpful. When I am studying and listening to music it helps me remember for when I have to take the exam. All I have to do is sing the song in my head and for some odd reason I am able to remember the answer. It is so strange because, at times I catch myself bobbing my head to a song I have in my head while I am taking an exam. For instance, when I am studying it could be that I have to read something but, all at the same time I have music blasting through my headphones and singing along to the song but, I am still studying all at the same time. I recently read an article that is about college students and listening to music during studying and, how it usually benefits them in being able to remember. Now, it does not work for most people because, others find it a distraction but, I for one find music to be so helpful. I usually listen to upbeat songs but, I noticed that when I am writing a paper I listen to Beyonce, for some odd reason and, I don’t even know why. We all have our different ways of studying and mine, just so happens to be to listening to music.

Going Home

Ever since this semester started, I began taking notice of how many times I want to go back home. It’s weird because last semester I didn’t go home for a whole month and a half in the beginning and even then going back home was for only important events or family emergencies. But now since I came back all I want to do is go back. I realised that I don’t get much school work done when I stay home either. Everyone wants to do something or I have work and I don’t get nothing done. I have only one class on Monday but, when I leave everything for Monday I stress myself out even more because the next day is Tuesday, one of my busiest days. I just need to start getting my schedule straight because I feel like I am leaving most things to the end and, I absolutely hate it. So, I am trying not to think about back home to much because, I feel like I miss it even more this semester. Maybe it’s because I feel like I have been here for so long already that I just want to go back and be home. But I am going to try and get my mind off of home. I mean we are technically already in March and time is just going on by fast. It’s crazy to think that just around this time last year I was stressing over my senior project, my CNA class/internship, leadership, the health expo, class of 2017 (club), and college stuff. Now here I am, in college and still stressing.

Is College Pointless?

So just last week during English we were discussing about how being a first generation student can be difficult because your parents expect so much of you and, it feels like you have an enormous weight on your shoulders. We also talked about how there are some people who really don’t think you have to go to college and feel that it is unimportant and a waste of time. I have been put into both of these situations. My parents always tell me that out of the four other siblings I have, I am the one who is going to be the one in college. I am also the only one who can prove others wrong. When they say that I feel so stressed out with their expectations they have of me. Sure, I can use it as motivation but, it’s the thought of letting them down that scares me the most. I have also had other family members especially my cousin tell me how it is not important. She asks me how college is and I usually respond “Good just a bit stressful is all.” But she is quick to tell me the many reasons why she didn’t go and how it is a waste of time and money and, it just irks me. Like sure, I could have went for the money but, I mean I don’t want to be working for the rest of my life in something that I don’t like. So yes, I will take along the stress that comes with college but, it’s because it’s one of the many steps I will need to take for my future.

New Semester More Stress

So we are now in our second semester, oh bring on the stress! It was nice having a month off and getting to spend some time with family but, now it’s time to get in the swing of things. For some odd reason I feel like it is harder this semester to do just that. I am currently taking six class and I regret it so much especially, Tuesdays. Tuesdays are the absolute worst. I have classes from eight in the morning to about seven in the night. At first I found it a bit stressful but, the day actually goes by really quick. I just always feel so tired at the end of the day with my last classes. The struggle of taking a lot of classes is the fact that most of the big things are due all around the same time. For instance, next week I have four essays due; one being a minimum of eight pages and it has to have an outline and some other requirements as well. I am slowly trying my best to find a balance between my classes so I do not feel so suffocated in all this work load. It just sucks that I did not get in most of the classes that I needed last semester for my major and, that I had to double up this semester so I won’t be completely behind. I just hope this semester flies right on by and I could end it off on a good note.