College Life

Academically the hardest challenge to overcome was trying to use my time effectively.  I have always struggled with time management.  Schoolwise, I have always struggled completing homework on time and blocking out time to just sit down and study.  I developed a routine and I have been sticking to it religiously.  I realized that it was the best thing that I could have added this year.  Sticking with a schedule has made me realize that working towards a goal can be simple if I have a plan to stick to it.  I have been very motivated to plan out what I need to do to succeed.  I have created a class planner, budget, and a workout plan.  Every month I make a set of goals of what I want to complete.  I also plan out how my week will be looking like as well as things I must accomplish.  Not only that but I do review what I complete each week and figure out if there is anything that I need to change for the following week.  Planning out what I need to have done and making time for it has been the biggest game changer.

As a student one of the things I have done is compare myself to other’s success.  I felt as If I were falling behind because others would be doing different things than I was.  Then I started to understand that success looks different to every single person. I now realize that that is because everyone is working toward their own version of success.  I have stopped comparing myself to others and I have started to realize that I am succeeding in my own way.  Success to me was feeling proud of my academic accomplishments, growing my network of people around me, and keeping up with plans for the semester.  My attitude has changed immensely, and I have been more motivated and grateful.  I have been putting in the work and growing as much as I can to achieve my success.  I have been trying to better myself as a person in every aspect.  I have realized that life is beautiful and that I should live life to the fullest.

Dear Sam, 

One piece of advice I would give you is to prepare for the increase in difficulty of most classes. Relating to that, one piece of advice I would offer would be to take good notes. The way that I learned to do this is to listen to what the professor has to say about the content and try to write it in a way that you can understand. This way, when you review notes, you can better understand what is being said, which I have struggled with the few times when I have just copied what was on the board. There is a saying that if you can teach a concept, you understand it well. By rewriting notes from the board, you are essentially teaching it to yourself, which helps build your understanding.  

Image Credit: Grace College

To be successful in college, one needs to study the information presented in class. The best way I have found to study is to find a quiet area on campus with little distractions and put on some relaxing music in the background. Distractions are my worst enemy when it comes to studying. There have been times where I will attempt to study in a louder area or with friends, and I typically get less work done because of sidetracks. Music helps me focus by blocking out the noise of wherever I am studying, decreasing distractions. 

Good luck in your college journey, 

Poppy 

Everyone who will or has gone through school, especially those in higher education, will face academic stressors. Two of the major ones I face are time management and balancing my workload. Time management is one of my greatest concerns, as I currently juggle multiple responsibilities, such as being a student athlete where I need to make it practice every day from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. while also dropping off a few teammates who can’t drive so I am not home until 8 p.m., and fulfilling family obligations such as driving my older brother to work in the morning and my sister to school while also giving myself time to make it to my high school for my AM classes there. The added pressure from wanting and the expectation of succeeding in school leads to the feeling of being overwhelmed, especially when deadlines are getting closer. For example, near the end of last semester, I had multiple essays and larger assignments to do in both my high school and college courses, and when I did have time, the weight and depth of the assignments overwhelmed me and made it harder to focus on one sole assignment. Managing my time while balancing personal life and striving for academic excellence is not as simple as creating a to-do list; I face some personal issues that complicate this process, from the aforementioned responsibilities to needing to make sure I have gas to drive everywhere so I need to work, so that leaves even less time on the weekends, and with a rocky relationship with my mother who doesn’t like me, my time at home is usually very stressful even when I am working on assignments.

Moreover, workload is what mainly contributes to my time management issues. An excessive workload can feel overwhelming and make it hard for me to feel like I could succeed. As my coursework increases, the expectations of succeeding in school increase as well; thus, with the mixture of poor time management skills, it is easy for coursework to pile up on me if I make too many little mistakes, like forgetting about an assignment, sleeping when I should be productive, and simply not finding the time to do an assignment that’s due. The fear of falling behind and failing is one of the more major stressors, and when I do fall behind, completing that bulk load of work leads me to feel burnt out and not as happy with my results. This happened last semester after I had gotten a concussion, and it was even harder to work on assignments. Another challenge related to workload is that being a dual-enrolled student significantly limits my leisure time and opportunities for relaxation, given that I have school throughout the semesters where I do not have a full break. For example, this past spring break I had school at my high school, and during my high school spring break I still had classes at UWGB. Striving to balance the workload and effectively manage time as a student in both high school and college is challenging; with each misstep, the subsequent efforts to fix the imbalance become ever more arduous and stressful, like missing an important assignment in ELA and focusing my time on it, which leads to me not working on another assignment in my Spanish class, and the dominoes will keep falling until I somehow manage to get back on track.

source: Hornshaw, Marija. “Man Holding Planet Earth on His Shoulders.” Adobe Stock, 12 Mar. 2021, stock.adobe.com/images/man-holding-planet-earth-on-his-shoulders/57405555.

As a student who is in both high school and college, it is easier for me to notice the differences between high school and college. In high school, the daily routine for every student is similar. A set schedule. We all have 3 hours to pick from for our lunch hours; otherwise, everyone’s schedule is the same. 1st hour, 2nd hour, advisory, 3rd hour, and so on. We all get the same 5 minutes between classes as a passing period, and we all have the same amount of time in each class. The high school environment is highly structured, leaving little room for freedom beyond the choice of classes. However college is almost the complete opposite, you have a structured day, but you essentially design it yourself. Students must make time for meals, studying, work if they do so, and socializing based on their preferences and commitments. The responsibility of designing one’s daily schedule falls more heavily on the student in college rather than on the administration.

source: Shuler, Kiley. “Your High School Schedule Vs. Your College Schedule.” Unkadmissions, 7 July 2017, unkadmissions.blogspot.com/2015/07/your-high-school-schedule-vs-your.html.

Another one of the more major differences between high school and college is the workload and self-learning. In high school, the workload is lighter because most assignments are shorter and less challenging. Typically, high schoolers have around 6-7 classes per day, with homework assignments that lack challenge and are mainly based on what you learned in class that day. Although, like anything, there are outliers. Certain high school classes, such as AP classes, may have a heavier workload like college courses, but the disparity between them is noticeable. In high school, you also are not really teaching yourself coursework outside of class unless you missed a day or want to get ahead of the curve, such as studying for AP exams. However, in college, most classes have you study on your own, conduct research, and explore topics beyond the course curriculum. As well as having longer and more In depth homework

source:Valentin, I. “Still Life With a Stack of New and Old Books Stock Photo.” iStock, 15 Dec. 2018, www.istockphoto.com/photo/still-life-with-a-stack-of-new-and-old-books-gm1082262102-290238797.

College is a new experience and a big jump for anyone. My college experience has been unlike anything else before in my life. I rate my overall college experience a 9 out of 10. It has been far from perfect, but I think that’s what makes it so memorable looking back and seeing how much I’ve grown over these past several months of college, and all the memories I’ve made. The thing I’m most proud of is the friends I’ve made so far in college. In high school I never really had the best group of friends and even now I don’t keep in touch with anyone from my high school, but my friends I’ve made in college definitely make up for that. 

    My biggest challenge so far would for sure be my classes. I struggled with classes even in high school, but I like the challenge of my classes and school in general because it makes me appreciate the free time I get to spend with my friends. My favorite part so far has for sure been the freedom I get to do whatever I like. With this new freedom I’ve obviously had to learn how to balance my time. Another big challenge for me is waking up for my classes. In college you stay out way later than you do in high school, and you pay the price for it the next morning when you’re struggling to wake up before noon.

I think college is a great experience for anyone lucky enough to experience it. All the bad times made the good times that much better. I’m very grateful for my college experience.

I feel like the most I’ve ever grown as a person has been this past year. This past year I transitioned from high school into college and I feel I have matured a lot as a person. The biggest difference being I live on my own, versus living with my parents. I have to look after myself and make my own decisions now, I no longer have my parents to rely on. I turned eighteen in high school and became an “adult”  in high school, but really coming to college and living on my own has made me an adult.

In high school, you go to school for seven hours a day on a routine, afterwards you have your after school activities and then head home. Dinner is waiting for you at home and you might even be lucky enough to have a family dinner and spend time with them before going to do it all again. 

In college you have maybe two to three classes a day, usually over an hour long and you’re assigned a lot more work to do on your own. Some days you might not even have class. You eat at a dining hall, usually with friends and you come back to your dorm where you live with a roommate.

In college you are a lot more free and treated as an adult. High school you still have to obey your parents and follow their rules where in college you live alone with a roommate. Living with a roommate on campus is also very different from living with your parents in high school, you learn and grow a lot having to live with someone you’ve never met before. 

Benjamin Younger

Mrs. Toonen

First year writing MWF 9:30

1 April 2024

How Is College?

Some people say college is the greatest experience of their life and some people say it is the worst experience ever. I have been finding my own opinion since I started in the fall of 2023. I have had many ups and downs, but I try to make all my negatives and turn them into positives. One example of this is when I miss a class. I miss class way to often as I feel like I have more freedom. Another negative is having to work and not having time to work on assignments. I work on average over 20 hours a week, and work tends to consume my time on weekends. I mainly work to afford my college resources such as books, notebooks, pencils, etc. I work to also afford gas to commute to college and pay for food and other resources. One negative is the nighttime classes. Most of my Engineering technology classes are at night, and that is negative because of my commute, and it takes away time I could be working. Another negative is needing to buy my own books and supplies. The books cost a fair amount and while the supplies are all reasonable. All the smaller expenses tend to add up quick.

At the same time, college has some of the biggest positives out there. One of my biggest positives is that I get to choose my supplies now. This is big for me because my mom always got my supplies in high school. I get to get the things I like, and I prefer. Going along with that one of my favorite positives is how I feel a lot more independent in college. Since I commute, I still live with my mom, but at the same time I do feel like more of a person by myself. I get to dictate where I am or who I’m with, and I can do that with a lot more freedom. One major positive I like about college even though I do not live on campus is the stores on campus. If I need anything in-between classes whether that is a book from the bookstore or a snack from one of the multiple food shops. I feel like everything I need is on campus. I also like the different classroom environments. All professors are different, and they run their classrooms differently. That is one of my biggest positives because I feel like I am not taking the same class repeatedly there all very different because of how the professor teaches.  In high school I feel like all the teachers taught the same besides the few that would improve their teaching and make it more interactive.

Navigating through college can feel like trying to find your way through a maze because of academic stressors. Academic stressors come in all forms, either it’s the overwhelming workload, conflicting schedules, or balancing academic life with a part-time job. For me, time management is a huge stressor. Juggling multiple assignments for different classes while working a part-time job can be very overwhelming. When it comes to dividing my time, I struggle with finding the right balance between studying, attending classes, and fulfilling my obligations at work. Balancing my academics with work is a major source of stress. Although I am lucky enough to work on campus, often school and work get mixed together and interfere with each other.

Another big  stressor I face is managing the workload between my classes.  Each class comes with its  own set of  assignments, readings, and deadlines, and it becomes a constant battle to stay on top of everything while still making time for my personal well-being. One specific part of the workload that causes me stress is when multiple major assignments and exams in different courses happen simultaneously. It often feels like all the deadlines are so close together that it creates an overwhelming sense of pressure. On top of this pressure, it can get extremely confusing. Keeping track of all the small details for exams and different deadlines for assignments can be difficult and things often get jumbled together and mixed up.