After completing the first half of this semester, there have been many parts so far about Geneseo that I can reflect on. Even more, I realized when I first got here that everyone is in the same position as you. In the first blog, I talked about how I thought meeting new friends would be hard. However, I now realize that everyone is in the same boat. After realizing this, it became much easier to talk to new people and put myself out there more. I have joined club baseball and the jazz band to continue my hobbies from high school and find new people with my interests. Now, some of my close friends from Geneseo are from baseball and jazz bands. By putting myself out there even a bit, I found a group of people I felt comfortable and happy around. This being one of the most essential parts of school, I am much more relaxed to know that I found my group of people.
Along with making new friends, I’ve developed skills related to school and the work that comes with it. One thing I knew I would need to work on was time management skills. As I said in the first blog, high school is when your time and schedule are planned out for you. However, after being here for half a semester, I gained time management skills and realized what works for me and what does not. For example, I have found around campus where I can focus and get work done and areas where I get distracted. I figured out how to study, what to study, and how to take better notes. Overall, the first half of this semester has been going extraordinarily. I have been having fun while still being able to manage my workload without stressing myself out more than I should.
Courses so far have been going well. Learning how specific class work should be done and the different learning styles of the teachers is something that has helped me. Most of my classes have become easier than I thought once I learned them and how each assignment works. Learning how to use canvas and other programs given by the school has made classes even simpler. I’ve met with many of my teachers during office hours to review assignments and for extra help. Also, I’ve gone to the math learning center for help, and plan on going to the writing center with my essays. My courses are good and fun because I could choose most of my courses based on my interests. Being able to do that has made the classes more enjoyable than the ones I had in high school. I would say college, for me, is ten times better than high school and is definitely something everyone should be able to experience.
In INDT, when reading, They Say I Say, I connected with basically every chapter in a different way. Each chapter hit points I emphasized in the first blog when discussing my goals and improvements for this class and my writing. I was able to understand a few of the many ideas from the book. The few that I best understood were to talk in your own voice as if you were having a conversation, don’t be more complex than you are, use transitions, and find a direct audience to pinpoint when writing. The two biggest takeaways from those aspects are using transitions and writing with your genuine voice. I know I have always needed to work on my transitions (in general) and to help the flow of my writing; definitely, after reading the chapters, that has become easier. We have only read a couple of chapters from The Theatre of War, but I was able to take some of what was said to heart. I want to understand more about veterans and what their life is like during and after being deployed. Even though it would be impossible to understand what they were feeling and experiencing, I want to understand better. I am interested in reading more and more chapters to help grow my knowledge and understanding.
I expect and hope to be in the same situation I am now, with more of an understanding of time management and putting myself out there. I am happy with my social life, but I know putting myself out there even more can’t hurt, and more opportunities are being presented to me daily. I expect to get closer to the baseball guys and build stronger bonds with them. At the end of the semester, I want to have a clear and solid understanding of how college works. I want to finalize what works and what doesn’t to have an even better second semester. I don’t always like to put expectations on myself because it’s not always possible to reach those expectations. However, I set so many goals for myself that I know I can take my time to reach them, and I won’t expect to complete them until I can. I expect myself to succeed and always to work hard, but I wouldn’t say I have any specific expectations for myself except to work hard and enjoy it.