Throughout this semester, I have been faced with many decision makings that might impact my experience at The Ohio State University. My transition from high school to college was very challenging in regards to adapting to the course load required for each class. Coming into my first semester, I came in with so much confidence on what I can accomplish in college and I noticed that as time went by and things got difficult, I began to loose that confidence. I came in thinking that I had a set path to go and I soon noticed that this does not have to be the case as Ohio State has so much to offer. For me that sent me straight to panic mood as I did not like the idea of change. As time went on however, I noticed that my concept on what was considered success began to mature and I began to view change with a positive perspective as one was life does not always have a set path.
The biggest lesson I have learnt so far is that college and life is not a race. We are all from different backgrounds and even though college constantly feels like a competition, the only person that I should be in a race is myself. And the only person that I should want to beat is my best self because at the end of the day, I know who and how that looks like. This kind of attitude and thinking will help me stay more sane in regards to my mental health as well as the decrease any unnecessary stress level caused by self comparison. For the rest of my first year, I want to be able to maintain good grades to help me set a strong foundation for my remaining years. My goal is to develop persistence in everything I do as I feel like that is an excellent trait in becoming a successful college student. Another goal that I have is to be able to utilize all the resources available to me in order to help me In my classes as well as outside my classes. I plan to keep going to my professor and TA’s office hours as I noticed how helpful it is and how reaching out for help can make a great difference grade wise as well as communication wise.
My classes this semester really challenged me to think of factors other than school and school work. My sociology class helped me to better understand the evolution and still ongoing process of different types of inequality including economic inequality, race inequality and as well as gender inequality. My leadership class for Morrill scholars allowed me to have practice the skills and topics of leadership discussed in the class. This has helped me improve upon my leadership skills and how to handle difficult situations as well.
Overall, my experiences at The Ohio State University have had both positive and negative effects unit I am however eager to learn and experiment as time goes on.