Kenneth Vasquez Chicas' "Expectation vs. Reality" Reflection Essay ○
Sitting in my car, I felt a certain uneasiness increase the closer I got to College Park, knowing what I expected but not knowing what would actually happen. I’ve heard so much from teachers saying college was stressful and inflexible, so much from TV saying it was a time for freedom, and so much from friends saying everything possible from good to bad. And you know what, walking into my dorm room for the first time, I knew that everything I was told and everything I expected was about to be shattered, seeing that the horrible dorms I was told about turned out to be not so bad afterall.
For CPSG, I didn’t exactly know what to expect. I was lost on whether to accept the offer to join Scholars because I thought it was a lesser version of the Honors College. But that was just my ego talking because I soon found out it would be better than the Honors College. I’ve met some of my best friends through the Scholars program, not just in the SGC program. I’ve felt a sense of community that I haven’t observed in other communities like the Heritage Community, seeing that Scholars work to help others as seen during Service Day. Not only has Scholars been great for finding friends and connections, it has been great for developing my skill set now that I know how to code in HTML, read scientific papers, construct a portfolio, etc. All in all, Scholars has been great in so many aspects that I didn’t even know was possible for the program.
For my other classes, I was humbled very very quickly. Originally when registering for classes, I decided on 14 credits thinking it would be easier for my very first semester. However, I was proven wrong, seeing my very first exam grade in MATH241, a score that told me not only would Calc III be hard but so would all my other classes. I thought college courses would be like my AP classes during highschool which were easy for me. But I forgot to account for the pacing differences seeing that AP classes took a whole year with one final exam, but college courses took a whole semester that needed to fit as much information as possible. But I managed, making friends and forming study groups in order to keep up with the fast pace of college.
For college life, I was expecting a lot but was also proven wrong because of my own decisions. Going off of what TV, movies, friends, and more would say and warn, college would have a lot of partying, a lot of going out, a lot of freedom that I never knew of before. And it’s true, I’ve had a lot of freedom to go out and try new things that just weren’t possible in a rural small town but are in an urban landscape. However, I’ve had to turn down so many opportunities to do that exploration I love so much because of how rigorous my own classes are. And everytime I do go out I end up being left with work that I have to catch up on. However, does that work outweigh all the memories I’ve made, all the random interactions I’ve had, all the pizzas and fries I’ve eaten at 2am while finding my way back home? I don’t think so, but I know it’ll get harder to balance fun with work, and I’m working on fixing that balance.
In order to not end up stressing over what college holds for us in the future, I’d like to offer some advice for not only future college students, but future UMD students as well. First things first, don’t come in with an academic mindset that prioritizes A’s over health and social life. If one comes into college thinking that all they need is to do good in school and that’s it, they won’t be able to succeed professionally and personally. College gives you a space to connect and dive into interests and skills you never thought to be possible or suitable for your own goals. And if you can’t take advantage of the amount of people on campus, the amount of organizations that exist, and all the resources available to you, then one just can't succeed. Also don’t be scared to reach out to others for help because everyone is struggling as much as you. Reaching to faculty can be scary, especially if you haven’t spoken to them and don’t know if they’ll prioritize you over any work they might be doing. But reaching out is the best thing you can do not only to clarify topics you may have missed or don’t understand, but also to connect and get closer to having somebody as a reference or as a mentor. All in all, incoming students shouldn’t be afraid of what college holds, because with the amount of resources and connections available, anybody could succeed.
