College is very different from what I expected. In every class, I was surprised to learn that the structure of lectures and discussions was so brief; I was so used to the intensive nature of high school class time that I didn't anticipate college's standard of little class but a lot of work. In MATH141, I was surprised that all the assignments were due at the end of the semester rather than when assigned and quizzes were verbatim textbook questions: much easier than I expected. In CMSC131, I was surprised that all the coding we learned was extremely simple; after all, it all would need to be written out on the final exam (something I didn't anticipate). In ENGL101, I was surprised by the difficulty of the class. I was so used to English being the easiest class to me, but this class required I put serious thought into every assignment and truly give my essays effort to succeed. The class was harder than I expected, but I feel I learned a lot more than I otherwise would have in my imagined version of the class. In ARTT110, I was similarly surprised by the amount of effort required to create drawings; we weren't graded by skill, but rather by improvement, so the class required a lot of self-reflection and serious study.
I'm very happy with my non-academic life this semester. I joined a ton of different clubs, interacted with people I otherwise would have never spoken to because of my newfound outgoingness when college started, and embraced a ton of hobbies that I stuck to over the semester. Even though I started out not knowing anyone, I feel that now the semeseter is over I befriended a significant chunk of people. Despite the many UMD undergraduates, when walking across campus each day I nearly always bump into at least one friend during my walk. The community of peers surrounding me is so great, I can't imagine myself somewhere else even though I could barely even imagine myself here a few months ago. Unlike many of my friends, I actually haven't felt homesick in the slightest throughout my time here. And although I'm offered "sorries" when people find out I haven't visited home yet since leaving, I don't feel sad or lonely in the slightest. I feel I live here now, because in many ways I do. All of my (new) friends are here, all of my communities are here, all of my education is here, nearly all of my belongings are here... Over the course of this semester I feel I've actually grown up considerably. Part of coming to Maryland from out of state, for me, was the aspect of leaving home for a significant period of time. I didn't want the crutch of my parents able to pick me up if I got stranded or help if I got hurt; I wanted to gain independence and live life as an adult would. Although I love my family, this semester showed me I am my own person independent of my loved ones back home. I know now I'm capable of doing whatever I set my mind to. UMD is filled with many people, and I feel lucky to have made so many great friends within that subset. I made some great friends and I'm excited to make even more come next semester!