Reflection on my Freshman Year
May 9, College Park, MD
Coming into this year, I knew Organic Chemistry 2 would be one of my biggest challenges. Everyone talks about how hard it is and this made me feel more nervous to be taking this class. I was shocked when I not only kept up but ended up in the top three of my class. The material just clicked for me, and now I'm even looking into becoming a GSS instructor next year because I enjoy it so much. What surprised me most was realizing I could teach myself effectively when my professor's messy notes made lectures confusing. It showed me that even the "impossible" classes are manageable if you put in the work.
I had to take this class for my pre-med track, but it ended up being an interesting challenge. My advice is to not shy away from difficult courses just because of their reputation. Most of the time, the difficulty comes down to how much effort you're willing to invest. Any class can be conquered if you prioritize it and manage your time well.
Building relationships with professors was trickier than I expected. My advisor has been very helpful, he's helped me explore neuroscience research opportunities and encouraged me to push myself academically. But in large lecture classes, it felt harder to connect. I kept thinking office hours were only for students struggling with the material, not for building relationships. The few times I checked, they were on Zoom, which made it feel even less natural to just chat. What worked better was talking to professors after class or asking questions during lectures. Incoming students should know it's okay to approach professors casually, they don't expect you to have everything figured out yet.
My friendships at school have helped me to feel more supported and have overall changed my lifestyle. I have never been very athletic but since getting athletic friends, we play sports together or they encourage me to go the gym which has helped me find outlets for stress and build new skills. Being able to take study breaks by kicking around a soccer ball with my friends instead of just looking at my phone or other non-sociable activities has helped me to balance my workload with my social life as well as my free time. A moment that stood out to me is when my friends on campus decided to throw me a surprise birthday party by luring me to a study room saying someone needed help with an OChem 1 topic. It showed me that they knew that this was the only way to get me away from my own studying and it showed me I had a lot of support on campus.
Making friends wasn't too hard for me since I met people at orientation and had some friends from high school here too. But finding time to actually hang out was the real challenge with my workload. Starting an intramural team helped me meet new people, and I'd tell incoming students to try activities they're hesitant about—you never know who you'll click with. Even if you're busy, having that social outlet makes the tough weeks more manageable.
The biggest adjustment for me was learning how to make choices about my time. In high school, things were more structured, but here, you have to constantly decide between studying, socializing, and taking care of yourself. I had to accept that I couldn't give 100% to everything—some classes only needed 45% effort while others demanded full attention. Missing out on things sometimes just comes with the territory, and that's okay. What helped was realizing that one bad grade or missed event isn't the end of the world.
If I could give one piece of advice to next year's freshmen, it would be this: stop resisting what's happening. If you have to take a hard class, accept it and put in the work. If you need to skip an event to study, go to the next one. Wasting energy complaining just makes everything harder. College is full of surprises—some good, some bad—but you'll figure it out as you go. The sooner you embrace that, the more you'll get out of the experience.