I am a freshman at SUNY Geneseo. My hometown is Tonawanda, New York. I would like to say I am from Buffalo, but people always get upset when I say that because apparently, I am truly not from “the real Buffalo,” but if I am a hardcore Buffalo Bills, Sabers, Bisons, and Bandits fan, then I count it. I live with my parents and my little sister back home and I’ve grown up to be a very family-oriented person. I miss them a lot, but this is a brand new, exciting journey for me and they are so supportive. My Italian family passed down the bushy eyebrows to me, but the one thing my mom and dad gave me was the “short gene.” I am a 17-year-old college student with a height of five feet, but my shortness doesn’t stop me from walking up the big hills at Geneseo. I don’t mind all the walking since I love being active and playing sports, which is why I just joined the girls’ lacrosse and cheerleading club teams at Geneseo.
The first day I moved in was full of emotions. It was the first time I was actually leaving my family and living independently. No more late-night talks with my little sister in our shared bedroom about “random things we think about before going to bed” or morning runs with my mom. I was actually on my own this time. My family helped me set up my dorm, we went to dinner, and then the time came. My family left. I didn’t really know what to do afterward so I sat on my bed for a little while. I didn’t know if I would be puzzled like this all throughout college without my family here, but once I adjusted on the fourth day, I knew that this was going to be my new routine. I had to walk through my schedule a few times during the four days, but the hills never got easier. I had to learn to hold myself accountable for doing my laundry and making sure I was getting enough sleep at night. I realized my parents did a lot more nagging than I thought, but that doesn’t mean I don’t miss it. I had to tell myself when my laundry needed to be done or when it was time to get something to eat. I was my own parent in a way. That sounds very obscure, but it’s true. Once you get into college, you become your own advocate.
I decided to take seventeen credits in my first semester of college. I was slightly worried that it would be too much for me since I was still adjusting to a new setting, but it was just the right amount. All my classes are super interesting and luckily there are no problems with them. The workload is definitely a lot more than I had in high school, but it helps me work on my time management. Although my classes are challenging, they are much more educational than my old classes in high school. My notes are taken however I want and the professors do not hover over me like most high school teachers did. While still being able to learn on your own it feels a little different than past experiences.. I am more determined and engaged while sitting in my college courses, while in high school, I would just try and stare at the clock to make time go faster.
INTD 105, a writing seminar (I chose to take this semester), is a super intriguing class. It has the topic of Theatre, a type of therapy for veterans. This class gives me topics I normally wouldn’t write or think about in high school. An expectation for this class is learning to be able to discuss topics and questions in a group setting or one-to-one conversation without interrupting someone or not listening. I want to become fully engaged in what my colleagues are discussing. This will help me not only become a better reader, but also a better listener. In this class, we are also reading the book They Say, I Say, which is informative and helps me with my writing. I can say that I am mentally connected with it because I have trouble correcting my bad writing habits from before and this book will help those bad habits go away while continuing to build new habits that are brand new. It is a way of learning how to write academically. The book gives examples of different techniques to use in your writing to connect your opinion on a topic with what others say about the same topic. I have noticed while reading that some of the things it tells writers not to do, I definitely have a bad habit of doing. So, at the end of this semester and when I finish reading They Say, I Say, my writing and communication skills should be high quality and more comfortable.
By the end of this semester, I hope to be comfortable with my new writing and communications skills, but I also hope to feel at home at Geneseo. I hope to find my group of people who are supposed to be my “life-long” best friends. During breaks of the first semester, I want to feel a little sad about leaving campus and my friends here. As of now, I look forward to going home and that should change. These hills should get easier and feel less steep as I walk up them, but that is more of a reach than my other hopes.
