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Alyssa Taylor's Freshman Time Capsule Reflection Essay


It is true high school classes are different in comparison to the typical
college class. When starting to look for classes to take, I knew there were some classes that were
required specifically for my major. This will apply to all freshman. Since I’m an engineering
major, my classes are all planned out before even entering the university. So therefore, the main
ones that I really got to pick were my electives. Last semester, I took two GenEd classes. I wasn’t
really sure which ones to sign up to take at first. My parents recommended that I start with what I was
interested in and then take classes that relate to them. This would make it less of filling a
requirement and more so learning about something that peaks my interest. Since art and dance are some
things that I is interested in, I looked for classes that fell under that category. I ended up taking
an art theory and introduction to dance courses, that not only filled some of my requirements, but also
it made learning fun. I was able to find these classes by simply searching for them on testudo.
Although this semester I’m taking only classes that are meant for my major, I was still able to choose
what time and section I was in. My main recommendation for classes like these is making sure
(if possible) that you have a good professor. Having a good teacher, especially when you get into
the upper math and science courses, will be very beneficial for you. If possible, testudo will
sometimes post the professor name and you can use rate my professor to help get an idea of what their
teaching style is like and the comments are given by students who have taken their class in past years.
This can be helpful in weighing whether you will be successful in that teachers class.

My greatest success in developing strong relationships with faculty
members is messaging the teachers about assignments or using office hours so that they know who
I am and that I care about the classes I’m taking rather than just a face or a name in a list of students.
For incoming freshman, I recommend that you try to go to office hours and talk with your teachers.
This will not only help you do better in the class, but it will also show the professor that you do
care about their class. Professors are very understanding and want to help you, you just have to go and
ask them for it. Another way to show the professor that you really care about their class is sitting towards
the front of the classroom. When in a class that’s has a significant number of students that the average high
school classroom, it’s really hard to stand out as a student to the teacher. Although they do care about all
of their students, it’s hard to keep track of everyone and you can easily blend into the crowd. By sitting in
the front, the teacher can see that you do care about the class and they’ll also get to learn your face which
builds a connection slowly with your professor.

Going from being a high school to college student was easy, but it wasn’t as bad as
I’d expected it to be. Everyone I talked with was really friendly. If any of you freshman have heard about
people going to other dorm room around them and saying hi, well that’s actually something that happens.
It’s a really fast way to make new friends and some of them you might not become close friends with
(which is okay). At the very least you know who your neighbors are and it would be good to know who you’re
going to be living around for the next year. In my experience, the hardest thing in pursuing theseIn my
experience, the hardest thing in pursuing these obstacles is finding free time to actually build those friendships.
Depending on your major, you may have a heavier work load than others. This can make it more difficult to meet up
with friends because you’ll more than likely want to get your work done first. My recommendation for people who
fall under this category would be to still make time in advance to meet up with friends so that you are still
getting to know them and you’re able to get your work done in time. obstacles is finding free time to actually
build those friendships. Depending on your major, you may have a heavier work load than others. This can make
it more difficult to meet up with friends because you’ll more than likely want to get your work done first.
My recommendation for people who fall under this category would be to still make time in advance to meet up
with friends so that you are still getting to know them and you’re able to get your work done in time.

In retrospect, I was definitely not prepared to have situations where my professors aren’t
the best at teaching. Some classes that I’ve taken have been a bit more stressful than I would have expected.
However, I was able to adapt and find resources that have been helping me get better in those courses. My recommendation
is that the second you find that you’re having trouble with understanding a topic, you go to either the professor,
or your study buddy in that class, or outside of class resources such as tutoring to help clarify what you’re confused about.
This will make you more prepared for any upcoming exams that you will have and be more successful overall in the class.
Another issue that I ran into was not taking enough time for myself to relax and recharge. My recommendation is to make sure that you make time for yourself. If you’re feeling stressed, take a break. Don’t try to do more than you can. You
will burn out mentally otherwise, which doesn’t help you in the long run in the semester.


Last modified: 24 April, 2022