Author: Derrick White

As a college student, the workload is quite high. Many lecture classes and many labs contribute heavily to this. I am in Chem 2 and Bio 201 which are both heavy lecture classes. I then have a lab that corresponds to each. This puts a lot of stress on me because of the amount of material that is in these courses. Chem 2 lecture has some very 

challenging topics especially for someone who has only taken one basic chemistry class in high school. Bio 201 is also challenging for me just because of the sheer amount of material covered in a single lecture. In just an hour, the professor covers over 30 slides full of new topics and definitions. These classes are 3 days a week in the morning which makes it even harder. I am not a morning person so even a 9:30 am class is tough for me.

Another common thing about most college students is that they are broke. I am working 2 jobs as of right now and have a side hustle which takes up lots of study time. I am trying to earn money while also balancing my academic workload. I work an on campus job 

dish washing and an off campus job dish washing. I am currently thinking of quitting my job at school because I am starting to feel safe on my finances and need more study time. I am struggling in these classes and it would definitely be beneficial to have more time to learn the challenging topics in these courses. The only reason why I was working two jobs was because I had to pay for my next semester of school. I had less than 100 dollars in my bank account so I felt the need to work extra.

As a freshman in college, the first year is a big change from what I am used to in high school. One pleasant surprise was the professors. I thought the professors would be less friendly and more strict and care less about the students. I have had pretty much all chill professors who are super friendly and care about their students which is very nice. Another pleasant surprise was the fact that my dorm was one of the closest to the union. This was very nice because I don’t have to walk far at all to get to the lunchroom, classes, work, etc. It takes me about 10 minutes to get to my farthest class which is very quick. This is also helpful because I got a job at the union, dish washing. I only have to walk 5 minutes to work which is very nice.                                                                                                                                                                                    Google image

However, there were some unpleasant surprises that I found out early in my first semester. One was the food. I thought there was going to be higher quality food and more options for food. There is only for quality (high school food) and there is only one place to get food if you don’t want the deep fried cheesy stuff that’s downstairs. Most of the food is fried food and very bad for you. There are 2 stations with good stuff occasionally. Another unpleasant surprise was the fact that some professors are from different countries and have accents. Throughout the year I have had at least three professors who have accents that make it hard to understand the lessons. I understand that they are good professors. It is just hard because there is a slight language barrier.