It really does seem like my first semester flew by. It must be the constant barrage of tests and homework that flood my time and mind every week that keep me distracted from the days that disappear. Unlike high school, college has no pauses, no lulls in the pace of work. It’s taken some time to adjust to the lifestyle, and I know for sure that I haven’t seen the worst of it.

I’ve done well, for the most part, in all of my classes. Then again, finals is coming up faster than I feel comfortable with, and I know the impact of a poor performance on a final can really mess up a transcript. The good thing is, I’ve developed into a more diligent worker over the course of the semester. I am confident in my ability to put in the necessary work and effort to get the grade I want. I’ve learned what it takes to succeed in college classes: time and focus. Not only is it important to organize my time effectively, but it is equally important to use the time efficiently. The bad habits of procrastination that I learned in my high school years, though sometimes still rearing their head, have largely been eliminated.

Currently, I am working on my organizational skills, as I have found myself struggling to manage everything on my plate as the semester comes to a close. Scholars requirements, Engineers Without Borders obligations, classes, tests, etc.; it’s quickly becoming overwhelming. Thanksgiving break was a nice breather, but I found myself coming out of it even more stressed, because of upcoming important dates and responsibilities. Hopefully, I can better manage my stress and schedule more effectively in the future.

I find it kind of funny how some of my classes have multiple midterms throughout the semester. In my high school experiences, a midterm was a cumulative test taken at the middle point of the year. At Ohio State, rather, the word midterm is used more generally, as just a large test. Not a huge deal, just something that I had to adjust myself to as I worked myself into my first year at University.

Studying for a midterm was not much different from studying for any other test — usually, it only differs by the amount of time I put into practicing the material. Three of my classes have at least two midterms, the last of which I took today. The first midterms I had were, unfortunately, somewhat disappointing. My scores, I felt, did not reflect what I had hoped they would. I can only assume that I did not put in the necessary effort to walk out of those tests with the grades I wanted.

Historically, I’ve never been a fast worker, which is what I told myself after I left some questions blank due to time constraints. Later, I realized that I likely would have been able to finish the test in the first place had I been more comfortable with the material. Studying and practicing the content increases your efficiency and fluency with the required knowledge for each of the problems. For this reason, I made the choice to dedicate more time to practice classwork. Whether it’s watching YouTube tutorials, or doing worksheets, nothing can hurt from extra work. Though I have not yet received my scores back from the exams I took most recently, I can say that not only did I succeed in completing every question on the tests, but I feel significantly more confident in the answers that I gave for those questions than I did for my first midterms. Looking forward to seeing the results!