Author: Penguin

Online classes have their fair share of struggles. During the pandemic, people had the chance for the online class experience and based on that experience, I prefer online learning. It’s not a first for many but still many struggle with it due to COVID 19. The beauty of college is that you can choose. In the in person classrooms there is a teacher present. Having the teacher there physically is very helpful and a reliable resource for help. While in an online class you have to wait for help via email, in person you can simply walk up and ask. Now this can depend on the person but typically those who don’t favor online classes tend to say they can’t focus on online and prefer in person for lack of distractions and receiving direct directions. 

 

Personally speaking, I love the freedom of online classes. As the oldest daughter in a Latin family a lot of responsibilities that tend to fall on me. Having only a few classes online has been my savior. Being able to take my notes and do my work at my own pace and time has been very helpful. I have felt less overwhelmed with the work. Better yet for people who love to sleep in. Amazing. While getting up early is not a problem for me, going to sleep early is. With homework taking hours I am exhausted but end up still going to bed late at night but rising early to do more work. Online brings freedom, at least that’s how I see it. Personally it all comes to preference. My preference is online due to the flexibility. As a student, who doesn’t love flexibility?

Source: leverageedu.com

Being a commuter is hard at times. Not only do you have to wake up earlier, you also have less time to sleep because you need extra time to get to campus. Typically on Tuesdays and Thursdays I wake up at 7:00. It’s about a 15 minute drive to school if the train doesn’t come and block traffic. I’m near the part of town where I have to pass by the train and some days I am not lucky. Of course I always leave early enough to get to school on time but I have had some close calls. I was even a little late to the meeting about our first essay for writing because of the train. My car isn’t built for the highway so I need to continue taking the backroads for a while. Besides the early wake up call and the drive, we cannot forget gas money. I try to only use my car for school. Since I live at home, I can use the other cars at my house for errands, but often my mom makes me use my car for other stuff so I better get a job soon! Of course having the freedom of dorms is tempting but also expensive so I will stick to commuting for now. 

Commuting however has its benefits. While driving to campus, it’s nice to listen to some music. It’s also a peaceful drive since I don’t take the highway. Being a commuter, it’s a small price to pay for not having to live in the dorms. I have only heard terrible things about living in certain buildings and the laundry situation is a mess. Living at home definitely has some perks. I can leave campus when I want and I have a separate place to go from school. So, while the dorms are ok, I think I would feel like I was always at school. Living on campus is an extension of school and at some point it would feel like just a semi private room of study. Commuting allows me to separate both worlds.

 

How’s life? Life so far in college has been pretty good. At least in terms of being comfortable with the workload. Now, when I say comfortable, I mean I know what is to be expected in college. Not to be confused with “I am used to the work, and it’s easy and I am handling it!”, which I am not but compared to when I struggled as an Early College Credit Program student, I can say that I am glad my expectations have not changed. Those expectations are the workload and what assignments are like. Basically, I know what to expect. Being a commuter all I can say is Gas is expensive but living at home does save me money so I’m happy with the give and take. All I can say for the whole college experience is truthfully I have nothing too interesting to talk about. Nothing new to share my thoughts on that I haven’t already explored. I have a routine and I have some stability. What more could I ask?

 

I could answer my own question and say my job situation could be doing better. I went to the psych fair and couldn’t grab any type of position I’m looking for, but I will keep trying. My current work is homework/projects, chores, and other various life tasks I need to do, such as taking care of my baby cousin. He will never stop crying haha! The work however doesn’t stop there as my hobbies also need work put in. My hobbies get me paid and the more work I put in the better! It sounds silly but by drawing and creating various projects ( I dabble in video editing and animation), I have been commissioned by multiple people. While my hobbies are tiresome and can be at times hard, I love them! What’s a hobby without some pain? Now, after everything is said and done, I can finally relax, hang out with my friends, and play games!