My name is Jackson Casey and I’m from Corning, New York. I chose to attend SUNY Geneseo for a multitude of reasons, including the short distance from home, in-state tuition, and recruitment from the basketball team. Considering the immense transition from high school to college, I have adapted smoothly.
Dorm life is definitely different from home life. My roommate Justin and I stay on the third floor of Onondaga residence hall. Our floor shares a bathroom and the entire building shares the washers and dryers. This dissimilarity by far, took the most time to get used to due to the possibility of having to wait to use any of these. I learned my lesson not to do laundry on Sunday at three o’clock because everyone seemed to have the same idea. Many people in our dorm meet in the basement to do homework, watch sports, or make food. This is where I have met my closest friends so far. Being part of a team has definitely made this transition a lot easier. My senior teammates have welcomed me with open arms and have offered a great deal of advice. I have also met many other athletes on different sports teams through team activities and collaborations. We have already attended a volleyball game and a tennis match. Our team lifts three times a week and plays basketball every day which has kept me plenty busy.
I have had mixed feelings about classes so far. The professors cover material a lot quicker than in high school so paying attention and studying is essential. The material is also more challenging to learn so if you don’t get help when you need it, you will fall behind. That is why I use my free time to get help from tutors and group study. The courses are almost twice as long as those in high school, so I have definitely had to adapt. It has been challenging for me to sit and pay attention for an hour and fifteen minutes when I am used to a forty-minute class. On the other hand, the professors are knowledgeable in their subjects which has made classes interesting. There is more to learn in a college classroom than in a high school classroom.
My goal for this writing seminar is to make my sentences more efficient so they are easier to read and understand. I also think I can use more figurative language in my writing. This will make my writing more interesting and allow the reader to use their imagination. The last improvement I can make in my writing is my grammar. Here will be an easy fix, but I have a habit of not putting my commas in the correct spot. In order to correct this, I will have multiple peers read over my writings to ensure that I do not make those mistakes.
In my writing seminar Theater-Therapy for Vets, we have began to read two books. The Theater of War has surprisingly resonated with me, considering I have never served in a war. In the play Ajax, Ajax loses someone very close to him and he is unable to cope with it, ultimately leading to his demise (Doerries). This hit home because I have lost close friends and have had to learn to cope with it. I have also learned a lot from the book They Say, I Say. This book has explained how to focus on what your peer says in a conversation and not what you think or want to say back (Graff/Birkenstien 27). This has been really helpful and I feel that I take in a lot more information than before.
I have set two goals for myself in my first college semester. For one, having good grades is important to me so I am making it a priority to earn an A in every class. Basketball season also starts in four weeks. My goal is to prove to the coach that I am good enough to get on the floor in the late minutes of a close game when our team is trying to win the most.