As I reflect on my freshman year of college, it is quite apparent that I have grown and matured as an individual through my academic and through other first year experiences. At the beginnings of my interactions with Ohio State, that being my application and acceptance to the university as well as the STEM EE Scholars program, I was completely oblivious to what the future had in store for me. After deciding to commit to attend Ohio State, I felt pressure to take authority over and be more cognizant of my actions. Although I had many strong feelings to take charge of business before the official start of my first year, I honestly handled my responsibilities with little focus or dedication, like skimming important emails. My avoidance of these crucial tasks impacted me greatly after move in day. While interacting with peers and fellow STEM EE scholars during those first few weeks, I struggled and felt consistently uncertain of what was going on around me. Everything happening on campus combined with the start of classes and new things I had to be accountable for, I became extremely overwhelmed. Despite these primary worries of helplessness, my first year at Ohio State within the STEM Scholars Program has aided me in evolving to be more responsible, more outgoing and more open to accept new ideas

It took hard work and perseverance to correct these initial problems and concerns. I had but only one choice: to become liable for my involvements and myself in general. I learned that I needed to take every occasion with a sense of seriousness and prepare myself properly. For communication is probably the most important aspect of responsibility, I grew to pay more attention to important notices and emails and became better at expressing my ideas. Most importantly relative to responsibility, I matured to recognize when I needed help and how to reach out to those who could help me such as my roommates, fellow scholars, advisors, professors and even parents. In my coursework, I had to learn what helped me succeed and how to budget my time. With becoming more responsible, I learned to be more outgoing. I realized that if I wanted to do well and participate, I needed to put myself out there. Reciprocally, the more often I put myself out there, the more confident I felt about myself and my abilities. Another way that I have matured is how I have become able to consider new ideas. In college, especially at such a large school like Ohio State, students are constantly surrounded by others who have different thoughts on life and beliefs. I am now more willing as an individual to listen carefully to others and reconsider what I already believe and agree with.

In conclusion, I have immensely changed for the better. I am now continually conscious of my actions and am more careful about controlling my own life. I have become better at tacking charge and being accountable for my obligations. Through the STEM EE Scholars Program, I have learned what balance means in relation to academics, activities, volunteer work and social events. From my experiences, I have matured and have a confident, dedicated outlook to what I can accomplish in both the near and distant future.