The nature of the CMSC250 course differed a bit from what I expected. Each time I go to a lecture, I get a review of the last lecture’s lesson, which is extremely helpful for getting ready for content that comes afterwards. The course content seemed to be designed intentionally so that each section is related in some way to the next section, which lends well to the lecture strategy. The homework is fairly easy to complete if you have reviewed the content, and serve as excellent review guides for the exam. It is also helpful that lecture videos are provided as well. I had initially expected the course to be packed with homeworks and have a large curriculum that could not be squeezed into two 1 hour lectures each week, but based on the strategy of the teachers and the helpfulness of the teaching assistants, the load was manageable. The nature of the CMSC132 course did not differ much from what I was expecting. Before taking the course, I had heard a lot about the lecturer and how he runs the course so I was mentally prepared. Each week, I had two discussion sections combined with three lecture sessions. The lecturer posts the lectures along with the notes, which I can refer back to if needed. Like the lecturer for CMSC250, my CMSC132 lecturer provides a review of the previous lecture’s material to assist in the learning of the concepts. For homework, there were a lot of ungraded worksheets and discussion section worksheets, so I feel like I am getting adequate practice for exams. The exams covered what was covered in the class and discussion, so nothing was a surprise on exam day. I expected that there was going to be a lot of coding and problem solving as well as support, and I got what I expected. I did not expect waking up at 8:00am as difficult as it was. The nature of the COMM107 course differed from what I expected. There are three distinct opportunities that tested the ability to compose a different type of presentation under different circumstances. The first speech taught me how to inform someone of a topic. The second taught me how to persuade others to adopt a belief, alter their behavior, or change their perspective. The third speech taught me how to work in a group to deliver a proposal to a group of peers. The final speech will probably teach me how to prepare for a special occasion (per the assignment description). The coverage of presentation types and application of those presentation types were expected, since one is only “competent” if they have shown proficiency in multiple speaking situations. What I did not expect was the absence of smaller practice opportunities that improve one’s ability to give impromptu presentations. I would imagine that impromptu speeches are common in the workplace. The nature of the ENGL291 course did not differ from what I expected. Each class consists of a review of the textbook material, combined with discussion questions that solidified my understanding of multimodal composing. The professor also promptly responds to my questions, which helps a lot given my course load (I often have other assignments to worry about). The textbook is fairly short, but it is packed with vocabulary and points of discussion, which I expected from an English course. There are multiple ways you can compose a text, so the structure of the course should complement this. During discussions, we are welcome to provide input and show others our thoughts and the products that result from them. In this fashion, we can enrich our own work. I did not expect that the course would put a lot of emphasis on pseudoscience. The emphasis seems appropriate upon further thought. A discussion of what it isn’t based on familiar parts of culture and the news remedies the lack of familiarity with the true meaning of “science”. I think it would be interesting if the course talked about solutions to the issues posed during lectures. The outdoor activities did not differ much from what I expected. For each activity, I expected that there was going to be some learning outcome that advanced one’s knowledge of science and global change or helped develop traits necessary for success. On Service Day, I got to know some of my fellow Scholars and gained appreciation for the lakes at the Aquatic Gardens at Kenilworth. I did not expect wading in the gardens or shoveling dirt to be difficult tasks initially, but in the end, the tiredness showed me reality. On the Metro Hunt, I became a bit more familiar with Washington DC and the associated monuments and museums. I had initially believed college life to be as stressful as high school. In a way, I was correct. Being in a new environment had its challenges. One of them was time management. The extra time in a week combined with the lower assignment counts (compared to high school) gave me more freedom to budget the time. For this reason, it was challenging and stressful in its own way. I had also envisioned college to some place where I can easily make friends. Since I am often busy, I do not often find a lot of time to socialize with others outside of the dining hall or between classes. My advice to first year students goes like this: block on time to review your notes each day. Even if you have assignments that seem high priority, make time to review the content. You will find that by investing time into understanding, that assignments become easier. Be kind to yourself and understand that you are in the process of learning.