When I first came into college I was very dependent on my parents; living on my own was not something I was exactly prepared for in my upbringing. I was nervous and uneasy coming into college and I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. My main worries were sleeping through classes, as I had a tendency to stay up too late most days and needed my parents to wake me up in the morning, class work being obscenely difficult or procrastinating too much on the work, and living with people who did not have similar interests with me and thus having constant tension between me and my roommates. One of these worries was solved almost immediately upon my arrival, however, as the STEM EE program allowed me to room with like-minded people with similar interests. Not only did I not live with tension the first semester, but I actually made friends with my roommates, and we hang out together often. I also found that the class work was not as difficult as I feared. Despite this, it still can be difficult at times, however, I have been able to study with my fellow scholars and we mutually help each other out studying. In this regard, I have grown in maturity in that I am no longer too prideful to ask for help, as I was in high school where I had a very ‘I’ll figure it out myself’ mentality. In regard to my third concern coming into college, I have found that I have been more responsible with not staying up too late for the most part and have actually been able to get myself up for my morning classes.
Perhaps the most immediate way in which I have grown in college is simply learning how to live. As stated prior, I was not good at being independent; In high school my parents did most of my stuff for me such as laundry and preparing food. I pretty much only did my homework, everything else was handled for me. Coming to college, however, forced me to learn these skills for myself, and I am grateful that I was able to have intelligent peers and fellow scholars on the same floor of my residence to help me out with learning how to live. Another way I have grown is being more active, which is in large part due to the opportunities made available at OSU. I personally joined the fencing club and I normally fence twice a week now and have actually lost about fifteen pounds this year. Another way I have grown is through volunteering opportunities made available mainly through the STEM EE scholars but also through other groups on OSU. These volunteering opportunities have given me the chance to give back to the community that has given much to me, but they are also a humbling experience, and have helped to further reduce my pride. The volunteering opportunities made available through STEM are particular nice in that they additionally allowed me to bring STEM to other students, and it was particularly invigorating to see people get interested in STEM, especially the kids.
In sum, when I first entered college and the STEM EE scholars, I was very dependent on my parents and prideful in that I was unwilling to get assistance. Additionally I was very inactive both physically and communally. OSU and the STEM EE Scholars, however, have helped me to grow for the better. I am now rather independent and capable of living on my own and am not too prideful to ask for assistance when I truly need it in my studies. I am also physically active and overall healthier than I used to be. Finally, I am more active in my community and have been able to give back to those that have helped me to grow myself over the course of the year.