As my first semester of college comes to an end, looking back at everything that happened fills me with both glee and sorrow. I'm so happy that this semester has ended, but it feels like a part of my college experience had been robbed of me due to the pandemic. Before things turned out the way they are now, I sort of glorified college itself. I thought of it as a way to start anew and to be able to shape my future, as well as the classes I wanted to take, without being as restricted as I was in high school. I thought that college would be a time in which I would be able to meet many people, discover who I really am as a person, and find a close group of friends that would support me both in college and in life after college. My views on college haven't changed much; It still sort of feels like I'm still in high school, besides the increase in workload.
For the classes themselves, I was quite shocked when I saw how lenient some professors can actually be. I always thought that college was extremely cutthroat, and that you can't afford to mess up at all or else you're doomed (some classes actually do feel that way to me), but some of my other classes were like a breath of fresh air -- specifically PSYC289D. That class was amazing; the workload was extremely manageable and the information I learned in that class really interested me. Other classes, like MATH120, I found extremely boring and didn't really learn much from the lectures so I had to resort to teaching myself. I learned that I have to do my research on my professors and the nature of the class so that I know what I'm signing up for.
I also learned the hard way that if I don't stay on top of my assignments, things can get stressful really quickly. I was a chronic procrastinator back in high school and there were moments where I would procrastinate during this semester, which ended up hurting my grades a bit because I wouldn't have enough time to produce good work. In some of these classes I can't really afford to lose many points so I learned quickly that I have to be extra responsible, especially in this semester when motivation is at an all time low, or else my grades would really suffer. I also had to teach myself how to study because back in high school, I was the type of person who'd wing an exam or essay without any studying or preparation whatsoever. I also didn't really rely on office hours and tutoring services as much as I should've this semester; I definitely will try to take advantage of these services for the remaining of my time in college. I'm glad I'm learning these things now rather than later on in my college career because I know that things will only get harder from here on out, and I can't afford to slack off like I'm used to doing.
CPSG100 and the Scholars program were nothing like I expected it to be. I didn't really know much about Scholars in general when I initially signed up for it, but I had no idea I would be doing volunteer activities and excursions as a part of the Scholars program. As for the class itself, I never expected us to spend a good portion of the semester talking about what science is, fallacies, and pseudoscience. I thought this program was going to be strictly about climate change and ways on how to mitigate the effects of global warming so I was shocked when we were doing things like learning about what to do if we're written up to the Office of Student Conduct and making our own HTML websites.
To future SGC students, especially commuter students like myself, an advice I'd give to them is to put yourself out there and keep yourself informed. College isn't like high school where people will hold your hand and guide you through everything, from events to stuff relating to your major and future career path. You've got to ask around and be responsible for your own success in this school -- I learned that the hard way since it's way harder to keep in touch with what's happening on campus since things are online. SGC provides so much guidance and events to help you get used to college life; use that to your advantage. Keep in track of school affiliated social media, as well as check your emails frequently because that's what helped me out the most with staying up to date with things that are happening on campus. Don't be afraid to interact with people in your classes' groupme chats, check out some of the clubs and organizations at TerpLink, and most importantly, try to enjoy yourself because at the end of the day, your time in college only lasts for so long.