Since midterms, I would say things have progressed a lot. Through the first two blogs, I explained how different college was from high school and the massive change in environment I was experiencing. However, after coming out of my midterms, I have begun to realize that I am becoming accustomed to the college environment. In most of my classes, I have seen a positive effect on my grade after using more of the resources offered to me. Using these resources has influenced my grades more positively. By now, I feel more comfortable with all my teachers and have no problem scheduling appointments during office hours before any tests. I have begun to utilize more resources that the school offers, such as the math learning center and resources in the library, to help me improve in my classes. My main focus for the second half of this semester is to fine-tune everything so when next semester starts; there will be no surprises or anything new that I need to become accustomed to. There are also areas outside of class and school that I have progressed in too. I have found a group of friends I hang out with who share similar interests. We also created a broomball team which has been some of the most fun I have had. Overall, I have progressed positively since mid-terms ended and even a little before that.
Focusing on this course, I was constantly feeling comfortable in this class and felt I had flexibility with my writing in my journals and blogs. In other classes, you have to follow a specific format or idea, but with the class, you can write about what you truly want, which made it easier for me to progress. This class has been one of the best classes to work in, with a very welcoming environment. I can definitely tell that with this class, I have been learning how to become a better writer and more understanding of PTSD. The primary reading for me that I was able to connect with was American Tet. I thought that the main point of the play was showing the different sides and views of war. Not everyone realizes that more than just the military member may be dealing with PTSD. At first, before reading this play, I knew military members and families fought with PTSD. Still, I never knew that the family could also undergo the same extent or even more significantly. I believe that Nhu is an excellent example of a person who has PTSD that most people would never even consider thinking about. Our country tends only to acknowledge our side of the war and never the enemy’s side. The idea is that people from that country could suffer tremendously more than we think during war.
With the end of the semester coming to an end, I am unsure what that time of year will look like for me. Typically throughout high school, I’ve learned that finals have always meant two things, stress and studying. However, if there is one thing I have learned so far this year, it is that college and high school are not nearly the same in any way. The biggest difference for me is that my professors are making finals more of a project and something fun and interactive rather than just an extended test of what we learned in class. This is something that I found super interesting because, for me, projects and assignments like that have more of an influence on me rather than a big test. My main hope for the end of the semester is to do well in school. This is most important to me because I know that these grades are what is setting me up for a successful future. So for school, I would like to maintain and achieve high grades for the semester and all of my finals. I would also like to feel 100% comfortable and confident coming back for the second semester. One main problem with the first semester was that I stressed too much about the small things when they ended up working themselves out. I want to come back and have a fun and stress-free experience.
