Eryn Gaither's "Expectations vs. Reality" Reflection Essay

The Topic:
In this essay I will reflect on the difference between what I expected this to be like and how this experience actually played out and what ways life as a college student was different than what I expected.

• My initial expectations for class structure and how things would be graded at the university level was that things would be really rigid and professional. I had this understanding that professors wouldn't be as lenient as compared to high school teachers. I also expected that we would be learning the material at a quicker pace than in high school because of college being semesterised. After completing a semester here, I've come to realize that the only thing that I was correct about was learning the class material at a quicker pace. Most of the professors that I've had have been pretty laid back about how they grade. The course material is also vastly different from what you would see in high school. Most classes that you go to in college, the only thing that you have to do is take notes, as opposed to in high school we'd be given multiple assignments every time that we had that class. I did enjoy not having to worry about doing multiple assignments in these classes because it lessens the workload and it allows you to focus on studying and doing bigger assignments like projects, quizzes, and exams. Some of the projects and assignments that we did have to complete were much more interesting and hands-on than when we were in high school. I recall one assignment that required the class to go to the farmer's market over at the Tawes Plaza and we had to speak to five vendors there. Others required us to simply watch a movie and discuss certain parts of it.

• Based on the description of the course, there wasn't anything in class that was covered that I was surprised was being talked about. I will say though, when I picked Science and Global Change as my scholars course over the summer I thought the course would be primarily focused on global warming and other extreme weather surges that we have seen in recent years. I chose this course not fully knowing what to expect and everything that I have learned while participating in it has been completely new information to me that I enjoyed learning about. I thought that we would have a lot less outside-of-classroom activities than what we actually ended up having. And then they ended up being more fun and interesting than how they were described. I really enjoyed the very first service day that we had because it was evident that the workers at the aquatic gardens needed our help and it was nice knowing that the work we did was impactful to that space and the surrounding community. The DC metro trip was fun and very helpful in learning how to navigate DC and the metro system. After learning how to use the metro system and becoming more familiar with it, I go to DC almost every weekend now!

• There's definitely a lot of more walking than what I envisioned! And I would say that everyone is pretty mature and focused on what they want to do with their future. There's a different air about the people that are here. They are here because they want to be and that's very evident in the way that they carry themselves and how they approach their work that they have to do in order to ensure that they are on track to graduate. I didn't expect there to be so many different clubs and organizations on campus and it makes it very easy to find your group of people. I didn't think that I would be able to focus on the interests that I had in high school because of how busy I would be in college, but that proved to be not true at all! I also envisioned that it would be a lot easier than what it really is and that was a mistake. The stakes are a bit higher in college and it shouldn't be approached like it's this thing that's going to be a piece of cake for you to complete.

• This first semester was a little rough for me. There was a ton of drama back home that I had to deal with while being here and I think it definitely had an affect on my mental health. But doing things like walking around our beautiful campus, exploring DC, and hanging out with friends helped me get my mind off of all of that. I genuinely had a lot of fun in the courses that were extremely interactive and they helped me get my mind off of things as well!

• Some advice that I would give to future SGC students would be 1, to relax. If you think this course is going to be hard it really and truly isn't, the most important thing is to study and ask for help if you need it. 2, find a way of studying that works best for you. It's good to understand how you as an individual can comprehend the material that you learn and what you need to do in order to remember that material. 3, get to know your fellow SGC students. You probably have similar interests since you participate in the same program and they could possibly be a strong connection in the future. And 4, have fun! There are so many opportunities that are open to you, you simply have to take advantage of them.

Last modified: XX December 2023