Walking into my first semester of college I have heard all my friends tell me that it is a culture shock when it comes to both academic and social life. I came in thinking that I would be face down in the books all day every day. After the first week of actual classes, I realized my friends couldn’t have been more right. In the beginning of the semester I had trouble keeping track of every assignment I had. However, around October I got into the swing of things. I found my rhythm and felt that I had my academic life under control. This is when I realized that my friends had also been wrong. After working through the rough patch of the first month of college, I found a balance between doing school work, social time, and personal time. I am not saying that it was a walk through the park, but I was able to  accomplish all of my assignments.
Then the first wave of midterms came. I was pulled into the riptide of studying the wrong way. My biology grade reflected that I had just scratched the surface of understanding this type of material. Even though this test damaged my grade, it was a learning experience. I learned the timing and the type of studying that works for me. Beginning to study about two weeks before the test, reviewing terms and definitions first, followed by connecting the information together. This technique was used in the second and third midterms, and my grades reflected my new habits. Now I will be able to continue to use and improve my study habits in each class that I take in the upcoming semesters.