The nature of CPSG was much different then what I had expected to be a normal class in college. Firstly I was under the impression that there were 150+ students in the class. I do not know exactly why I was under that impression but I thought it would be a lot of students and you would not get to hear from the professors much. I just figured that there would not be many opportunities to stand out in class, because of the volume of students. But I was extremely wrong. First off, there are only around 70 students in the class. This really makes it easier to find friends to study with. I also thought the class would meet several times a week. I think I got into such a groove in high school being used to seeing every teacher each day. It was unorthodox to me that we only meet once a week, but I liked it because it put less pressure on me to worry about the class everyday. I also enjoyed how the lectures were online and could watch them on our own time. I had this with a couple of classes, which I did not expect to have in college. I thought that lectures would be over zoom and we would have to take notes as if we were in class. But, I really enjoyed having the ability to watch lectures and take notes on my own time.
One thing that we covered in class that I did not expect was logical fallacies. It is so weird to recognize people using them now, especially when trying to back up an argument they support. I find this really good to know, for myself, that I do not make these mistakes. But also, so I can recognize when someone else is using a logical fallacy and I can correct them saying that is untrue. It was also very comical learning them through referee memes. One thing that I hope we explore is the effect that the global lockdown had on the carbon emissions. I am very curious to see if levels decreased because so many factories were shut down. Also, I know that China is the world's leading producer of emissions so I want to investigate if their numbers dropped. I am not too certain if factories there shut down due to the pandemic, but definitely something to research. I was a little disappointed with the outside activities because we are in the middle of the pandemic. We were unable to go on the trip that usual SCG freshmen go on which was unfortunate. Once all of this is over, I would like to participate in such events. For the most part, everything was practically online for most of the semester, so there was little opportunity for outside the classroom events.
College is a lot more fun than I had expected. Personally, I lived in centreville hall on the fourth floor with other students in science and global change. It was a great experience to easily make friends with other people on my floor. The biggest thing my highschool self did not account for was freedom, both good and bad. College students are given so much freedom to do what they want, when they want. But, it's up to each individual to make the most out of their time. I found a great group of friends in all of my classes that I was able to study with. They kept me on track with making sure we all knew what was going on in lectures. Also, I thought in highschool that college would not be that difficult. I heard that from others that put minimal effort in and got passing grades. On the contrary, college is full of studying. I've studied more in one semester of college than my entire high school career. Studying is extremely important to get good grades. I also did not expect the family aspect of college life. Meaning, I became a little family with those that I got close with. Everyday, we would eat together, hang out together, go to the gym together, study together, and much more. I knew I would have some friends but I did not expect us to become a little family.
Be open, have fun, but keep your goals in the back of your mind. What I mean by this is college is a time to experience many things and meet people from all walks of life. Yes, you can go to college, put minimal work in, and barely pass and get a degree. But if you want to go onto a higher level of education, you need to keep your priorities straight. Personally, I hope to become a pediatric doctor one day. I need to keep that in the back of my mind so that I know I need to do well in school. That is my first priority and everything ensures after that.