This semester I started to feel more “at home” in the university since I was able to navigate the campus without getting lost. Also I gained a sense of familiarity and with the university since I was running into friends all around campus. I became a bit more accustomed to the fast pace of college classes and and got used to the idea of always being busy. However I am still leaning to juggle my commitments since this semester I found myself saying the phrase “Sorry, I can’t go because I have to study”. This is not all that bad because I was prioritising my school work and making progress in my studying techniques. Nevertheless, I was failing sometimes to incorporate more social and stress relieving activities into my busy schedule. Near the end of the semester I started to recognised this and tried to become more organised and sometimes get ahead on work in order to be able to do more activities that will enrich my experience in the university.
This semester I was involved in the Peer-Leader program for Biology:
This was a wonderful experience because I was able to lead a small class of students in the 1113 Biology course in some review packets and knowledge checks. This experience served as a an opportunity to further my leadership development and to build more confidence in my Biology knowledge. I also greatly enjoyed working with the peer-leader team because it was nice to share ideas with likeminded people who are passionate about teaching and learning Biology.
I know this takes a little fun out of it, but try to schedule your social connection time a few times a week so you make sure you see people you care about on campus! Maybe consider a cut off time for studying on a Saturday to give yourself the chance to regroup so you can even be more productive when you are studying again.