Eight short months ago, I graduated from Boonville High School. I was ecstatic to be out of high school and moving on into what I considered, ‘the real world’. College was going to be a great time spent making new friends, hanging out with them, and having fun. However, my only concern was not about my social life, I was also nervous about my classes and professors. School work in college frightened me. I was afraid that I was not going to have enough free time and that I would always be swamped with work. My main concerns after graduation in May were, ‘How hard are my classes and professors going to be?’ and ‘Will I be able to get along with my roommates and make new friends?’
My school related fears in college were tough courses and weird professors. In high school, I worked hard for my good grades. But, for the most part, none of my classes were too difficult and I usually pulled out an A, with the exception of Latin and AP Lit, though I got a B in both of those classes so I did not do too badly. I come from a small town, and both of my parents are teachers, so the teachers all knew me and I knew them. It was easy to have relationships with the teachers because we already had somewhat of a history together. I was never nervous to ask questions about grades or tests because they knew me and knew I was a good student. However, in college, I did not know any of my professors and I was anxious to see how I would get along without having previous knowledge of each other.
Once I got to college, I learned that most of my classes were not as difficult as I had expected and I just needed to work as hard as I did in high school. Some of my courses are more challenging than others though. A couple of courses I have learned require countless hours of doing homework and studying for tests, unlike my classes in high school. Overall, my classes are not too difficult. My nerves and anxieties have vanished since first coming here in August. A few of the courses I even enjoy attending.
As stated earlier, I knew all of my teachers in high school and their differences did not seem odd to me, but in college I had always heard some of the professors may be a little eccentric. Who ever told me that was not kidding. For the most part, I have no problems with any of my professors. Granted, some of them are a little odd, but their oddities are nothing I cannot over look. I established what I feel as a good student-teacher relationship over the course of the first half of the first semester. I feel comfortable enough with all of my professors to be able to ask them questions after class, and sometimes even e-mail them. I realized that I had previously worried over nothing and I am happy with most of my professors and am no longer skeptical.
I have always had a group of friends that I usually hung around with in high school. But, only a few of them were going to attend the University of Southern Indiana this fall, and one of my best friends that does go here does not live on campus. I was scared that I was never going to see her, and then not be able to make any friends. But, I think the root cause of my fear was something that had happen to one my friends from high school. One of my best friends who is a year older than me headed to Indiana State last year and was miserable her first couple of weeks in Terre Haute. She did not have a good roommate and struggled to make any friends and for awhile I thought she was going to come back home. But, a couple of weeks into her year she made many new friends and hardly came home. I constantly thought, ‘What if my roommates hate me?’, ‘What if I cannot make any new friends?’, and other ‘What if’s’ ran through my mind in early August before school started.
My fears seem irrational to me now. I have gained many friends over the past eight weeks and I think about how silly I was ever worrying about making friends. I am absolutely in love with all of the friends I have made and I hardly go home anymore. I was very fortunate to have been roomed with great girls. We even hope to live together in the future. I am also lucky that I have made friends with some of the girls on my floor. I have even branched out and found new friends in the other dorms. I have had the best time with all of my new friends and I laugh at myself know thinking about how silly I was being, thinking that I was not going to make any new friends.
Many people change once they enter college. Usually, they change for the better. I now realize that it is silly to worry over things in college, because no matter what, I will have to make the best of it. College is one of the best times of a persons’ life, you just have to go out there and do what you do best. I have worked hard on my schoolwork and I am succeeding in all of my classes. I have made new best friends and hope to make many more. I am grateful that my fears have been erased and I am happy to be starting a new chapter in my life.
No comments:
Post a Comment