Fall Semester Reflection

Adapting to college life was an adjustment that had to be made pretty quick. I soon realized that my once quality sleep schedule from quarantine was no more, as most nights going to bed before 1 or 2 in the morning became “early,” with a wake-up time before 10 every day. There was also the sheer amount of work that came with my three core classes of chemistry, calculus, and FE, that I had to get used to. It called for a few all-nighters with a one or two-hour nap before my first class the next day. At times I remember thinking to myself that “I wish there weren’t always people around,” since there were a few loud days where I had a large bit of work to do while the rest of my friends would hang out and watch a tv show, or the debate nights I’m looking at you. But since moving home to work fully online, I have seen a significant decrease in my motivation and that is simply because I no longer have my roommates and friends around 24/7. With all of this to consider, though the change was quite abrupt from high school, it was a much-needed switch in perspective and a growing pain to get through.

There are so many things to love about The Ohio State University. For one, I absolutely love our living and dorm arrangement in Morrill Tower. The way the suites are set up with 6 people and being in a double with my roommate (love you Rachel <3), it gives us the perfect amount of space. On top of being friends with all my suitemates, I have made many other friends from several other suites on the floor. So now we have a big group of close friends that I know some life-long friendships will come out of. One thing that I was hesitant about was having too many people around all at once. However, we were all very COVID conscious so none of us ever left the dorm most of the time. And when there was a positive test from one of the suites on our floor, only one person tested positive from our group. This helped to confirm that our bubble of friends worked very well.

Of the things I struggled with throughout this semester, most of them came from being something to adjust to, as mentioned before. I definitely found the amount of work tough most of the time, but if I were to just fix my time management slightly, I would have been able to handle the work a little better. This will get better over time, and I know I just needed a semester to stumble through and learn how to handle it for next time. Also, what I found very difficult, as most people did, was completing courses that are significantly easier in person totally online instead. This was something I struggled with while completing my senior year of high school in the spring, and that did not change coming into the fall at OSU.

Something I achieved throughout this semester is a better understanding of what I want to do with the rest of my life. I have not totally decided, of course, but I have a better idea of what my future might look like, both in school and in after graduation in the industry. I will say having the opportunity to speak with an alumni of the scholars’ program helped open my eyes into the real working world in a career like one that I might want later on. Overall, after talking with advisors, other students, and attending many major information sessions and career panels, I now have a better idea of what a good future for me might look like.

For spring semester, I would like to be better at getting my work done in a timelier manner. I also want to work for better grades and avoid using pass/fail for any class. Another goal is to be mentally ready to apply to the College of Engineering for fall of 2021. By that time, I will have all the credentials completed, I just need to have the confidence that this is exactly what I have been wanting to do and what is right for me.

Here’s to an end of a bumpy first semester, and a hope for a smoother spring semester!

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