My time here at the University of Maryland, College Park, was unlike how I expected it to go. Actually, when I first arrived at college, I made sure not to hold any expectations. Little did I know that I would be making so many lifelong memories in just the first semester and forming strong bonds with old and new friends. I met my roommate for the first time in person on move-in day, and we instantly clicked within a short span of time. It could have been Service Day that had aided in making our connection closer. Since we were both part of the Science and Global Change Scholars Program, our task was to clean the ponds at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. I think a laborious activity is a great way to let people bond over it. I'm glad that we were able to give back to the community while also being able to connect with our new peers. We were dirty, tired, and probably stinky, and that was what made the whole experience unforgettable. A notable memory I had was that I had gotten a shoe bite from the loafers we had to wear, and on the way back from throwing out the weeds from the wagon, my roommate let me sit in the wagon and rolled me away for a while. It was a nice memory that couldn't have been made without Service Day. I definitely enjoyed it and believe it is one of my favorite events from being in Scholars. My other favorite event that was hosted by our Scholars Program was the New York City field trip to the American Museum of Natural History. At the museum, we got two tours from our very own professors, Dr. Merck and Dr. Holtz, and we got to take a self-guided tour where we could walk wherever we wanted in the museum. What I enjoyed about the trip was that it was mostly independent and that we were later free to wander around New York however we liked for a couple of hours. Usually, when it comes to field trips, everything is structured, and we have to stay within a group supervised. The freedom to just do what we wanted afterward felt really nice, and we were actually able to feel like we visited New York while also gaining knowledge about the museum and tours. The structure of the course itself, CPSG100, was pretty nice. We were able to sit with our friends, and there were activities that made us work with other peers and engage as a class. The assignments for the class weren't difficult, and we actually read interesting books. In class, we would cover various topics in the lecture; however, at some times, I felt that it could have been more engaging during the lectures so that we would be more present in class rather than just listening the whole time. I believe it would help students pay more attention if they happen to doze off a few times. Honestly, speaking for myself, that happened to occur a few times. I think that also had to do with the timing of the course since it was later in the day and my last class, which was at the time I was least concentrated and ready to learn. But other than that, the class was pretty nice, and since it was only once a week, it was pretty good. We learned about different types of logical fallacies, which I thought was interesting in learning the psychology of different arguments. We read about different extinctions and how we may have caused them. That was something I wasn't expecting, which was the specifics of how much of an impact we caused. Something I thought we would be learning about what we could do to decrease our impact. My other courses at the University of Maryland were pretty alright. Since it was my first semester here, I had to take general education classes that didn't really pertain to my major. That being said, I wasn't really interested in them, which made me not want to put a lot of effort into them. Also, the shift between high school and college was a little difficult because all the effort is dependent on you, and you have nobody to push you other than yourself. The way the courses are taught is also different. In high school, we didn't really have lectures. We would be able to ask a lot of questions and do examples together as a class. But in college, we have lectures, and if we have any questions, they usually have to be self-taught or saved to ask during discussion. Living in Centreville was really nice because we are close to our scholars' classes and also the main places on campus. That includes Eppley, the volleyball nets, and the Y, which is the dining hall. It is also nice to live in the same building as people in your class because it helps you see them more and form stronger connections. I didn't expect to be living so close to my friends, which made meeting them so much easier and more fun. Overall, the first semester was so unexpected but ended up being really fun. My advice to people coming in is to make sure you stay on top of your assignments and also balance your social life so that you get to socialize and have fun at the same time.