I went into my second year excited fr what it will bring me and was not disappointed. I began the year as a peer mentor for my scholars group. I love helping the first years find their way around campus and teaching them all of the tricks I learned from the previous year. I was a co-handler with my roommate and throughout the year we handled two different dogs, Beetle and Groovy. Beetles even went on to be a service dog and is happily placed with a family. Groovy is still in training with my roommate! I took my first set of zoology major classes and quickly learned that I did not enjoy them, so I switched my major. I will now be pursuing a dual degree in both Psychology and Biology. Hopefully, by the end of my four years, I will have two Bachelors of Science. I worked at the College of Veterinary Medicine and learned valuable lessons about parasitology as well as the overall journey to a DVM. I also made many connections that I am very grateful for. This, combined with my new knowledge of the journey to graduating vet school, also helped me to realize another goal of mine, which is to become a clinical psychologist. I still need to obtain more information about the career and other potential careers in the field, but I have found a new love for psychology.

My second semester was full of new excitement and challenges. I started Organic Chemistry, which pushed me to think in a completely new way than either of the General Chemistries did. I took three psychology classes, including one called Primate Cognition which has been my favorite class in college so far. The biggest struggle I have had though, as many others have had, is coping with the effects of COVID-19. It interrupted a semester that was going really well and forced me to move back with my parents. I quickly learned that home is not the best environment for me to be productive and I quickly fell behind in my classes. While I have finally finished them all and can say I did catch back up, it was far from easy. I missed my friends and especially struggled during finals because I was use to spending hours studying in Thompson Library with everyone. I did not realize how much just being around people who understand how difficult college is helped me through my classes until then. We frequently reminisced over text and facetime about the fun we had studying for finals together. I am beyond excited to be able to see my friends again and to move back to campus so that we can continue to have fun together, even when we are in the midst of a stressful situation such as finals.

Overall, I really enjoyed this semester despite the abrupt disruption to my routine because of COVID-19. I was making new friends and becoming closer with those of whom I was already friends with. I learned a lot about myself and my goals for the future and was able to gain experience and connections I would have never thought possible for a second-year undergraduate a year before. I am excited to see where the next two years take me.

My second semester flew by even faster than the first. I took a much heavier class load than the fall semester. My schedule consisted of Spanish 1103 (Spanish III), Chemistry 1210 (General Chemistry I), Biology 1114 (Form, Function, and Ecology), and Math 1149 (Trigonometry). I was much more busy than I was first semester and that resulted in a few more challenges than I initially faced coming into college.

I was always prepared by my teachers, parents, and older friends that college is a lot harder than high school. Therefore perfect grades, while always the goal, may not be achievable. Yet, my first semester seemed to go pretty well for me. This made it even more difficult to face the notoriously difficult classes at OSU though, because it may have given me false hope that college isn’t as hard as everyone makes it seem. Also, I missed out on the initial shock of receiving a horrible grade that my peers had in the autumn, which made it a little bit harder to cope with the failing averages on some of the chemistry midterms, because I did not have peers that were facing the same challenges at the same time as I was. Although because I took many of these harder classes my second semester, I did know a little bit about how hard it was going to be from my roommates and friends who took the class before I did. Despite the shock of much more difficult classes, I managed to pass all of my classes knowing I put forth as much effort as I am capable of, which is all I can ask for I suppose.

Another downfall of the heavier course load is the fact that I did posses some of the time management skills I thought I gained my first semester. I talked about how I had learned to manage my time and balancing school and social life, yet I did not know what it was like to take classes that require hours of studying and preparation outside of class. My first semester, while was not easy by any means, did not require the extensive number of hours I spent in Thompson studying this semester. While this was yet another shock, it taught me valuable time management and perseverance when all I wanted to do was to go spend time with my friends. I had to make difficult decisions to study instead of going out with friends, which was hard at first but paid of in the end. Also, not that the semester if over I can see that I still spent a lot of time with friends and even learned how to do both study and hang out by taking trips to coffee shops in Columbus.

In all, this past semester was full of even more learning curves that come along with beginning college. I thought I had a handle on time management, but quickly learned I had a lot of improving to do. Also, I was quickly humbles by the grades of much harder classes, which pushed me to work even harder in my studies. If I learned one thing from this semester, it would that I can achieve what almost seems impossible (decent grades in difficult classes for example) if I am willing to put in a little effort to get there.

Also, below are some pictures from throughout the semester. I went to Hocking Hills for Spring Break, where I became even closer with my new friends from last semester. My roommate received a 4 Paws dog to begin training. His name is Beetle and he lived with us after Spring Break, and will continue living with us for a few months next semester. He is what encouraged me to finally submit my application to be a part of the organization so I can help in training him and future dogs!

This first semester of college was filled with a whole set of new experiences, as the first semester of college typically is for any first year student. My class load was filled with mostly general education credits, which means I am taking classes that push my outside of my typical comfort zone of energy levels and osmosis labs. I am taking two art classes, one of which is a history of art course. These classes are very different than anything I was ever exposed to before because I am encouraged to think outside of the box and create my own projects, rather than following a strict rubric. I had to memorize a hundread works of art, where they are from, and analyze the works based on my own knowledge of the topic and culture rather than based on what my teacher told me to remember. My photography professor regularly gives us a broad idea to follow for our projects and expects us to come p with a good idea to express the idea through our art. This past project was to create an imitation of another photographer’s work and then make it our own. Other than that little bit of direction, the project was up to me. I love being able to take my education in the direction that I want. If i put little effort into my work, I will get little out, and vice versa. I am given the freedom to think critically on my own and discover what I like to learn about. Also, I have been pushed to think in a completely different way than I would have to in my science and math courses.

Another personal development I have made in the past four and a half months involves my ability to cope with less privacy, being exposed to more diversity, and a much faster pace of day to day living. I was use to having a room to myself, a cat that would sleep next to me, food in a fridge with a kitchen to cook, and the ability to take time to myself on a daily basis. Now, everyday is fast paced and something is always happening. Whether that be drama with a roommate, a residence hall activity, or a new test to study for. I have to actively search for a time in which I slow down and relax, something I never had to actively do before. I have found that at times I need to say no to going out with friends and instead spend time just relaxing, or I will get burnt out very quickly. It was especially hard around my firt midterms because I never wanted to say no to spending time with friends to study, but quickly found that I had to do so in order to save my grades. In all, I have found that I must take more control of what I am doing on a day to day basis in order to spend my time on what is needed in the moment.

Biological Sciences Scholars has really encouraged me to continue pushing towards my goals in the future. In high school I found it fairly easy to concentrate on preparing for college and gaining the experience I needed to become a good candidate for vet school. I always knew what I needed to do and how to find the resources to get me there. Beginning college was a whole new set of obstacles though. There are so many more opportunities and people whom are smarter and more qualified than I am, so it was very easy for me to slack off at the beginning of the semester. Going to class and learning about all of the opportunities I have for the future, gaining ideas on how to make myself tad out and survive some of the more difficult classes I will eventually have to face, kept me looking forward. My scholars seminar encouraged me to begin looking for internships and thinking about how I may want to spend these next four years in preparation of grad school. While I still feel overwhelmed and underprepared for the future, it has given me a place to ground myself and begin to look for ways to become more prepared. Also, it was given me a fairly solid support system of students in the exact same place I am, just as overwhelmed and nervous for the net four years and beyond. So, while I may feel stressed at times, I have a network of friends who feel the same way and that we can both lean on.

This section is dedicated for my reflection of the past year, focusing on my personal and academic growth.