I can't believe I am already a fourth of the way through college (well, assuming I graduate in four years and pass the rest of my finals that I should be studying for right now...). Before I started college, many people told me that these four years would fly by, and they were completely right. Despite the warnings, I didn't realize just how fast time would go!
I used this year mainly to adjust, meet new people, and get myself academically prepared for the classes ahead of me. Although I am happy with how this year went, I am looking forward to taking advantage of more opportunities in the future. From on campus research, to academic clubs, to community organizations, the possibilities are endless. The challenge is not really finding activities to get involved in, but finding a balance between school and everything else. In engineering (and other ACE related majors), classes are time consuming and it's rare to find a time when you have no work that needs to be done. Although engineering does require many hours of work and practice each week, I have found that it's important to have outlets and time set aside for doing things outside of school. Not only will you drive yourself crazy and burn out if you work all day every day, but you will regret the opportunities you missed. I've also realized that when I don't give myself breaks, I end up not being productive anyway. Admittedly, I have not perfected the art of time management, but I am working on it.
It's also important to remember that while doing well in high school might mean getting A's, doing well in college, especially in STEM classes does not necessarily equate to raw averages in the 90's. In some classes, tests are set up so that if you understand the material, you will be able to get A's or B's, but in others averages are consistently in the 50's or 60's, so low C's can turn into B's or even A's. While striving for good grades is an honorable pursuit, it's more important to work hard and learn the material than to stress out over a few points or dwell on a past test that you didn't do as well on as you wanted to.
These are just a few thoughts from the year and lessons that I learned...
I used this year mainly to adjust, meet new people, and get myself academically prepared for the classes ahead of me. Although I am happy with how this year went, I am looking forward to taking advantage of more opportunities in the future. From on campus research, to academic clubs, to community organizations, the possibilities are endless. The challenge is not really finding activities to get involved in, but finding a balance between school and everything else. In engineering (and other ACE related majors), classes are time consuming and it's rare to find a time when you have no work that needs to be done. Although engineering does require many hours of work and practice each week, I have found that it's important to have outlets and time set aside for doing things outside of school. Not only will you drive yourself crazy and burn out if you work all day every day, but you will regret the opportunities you missed. I've also realized that when I don't give myself breaks, I end up not being productive anyway. Admittedly, I have not perfected the art of time management, but I am working on it.
It's also important to remember that while doing well in high school might mean getting A's, doing well in college, especially in STEM classes does not necessarily equate to raw averages in the 90's. In some classes, tests are set up so that if you understand the material, you will be able to get A's or B's, but in others averages are consistently in the 50's or 60's, so low C's can turn into B's or even A's. While striving for good grades is an honorable pursuit, it's more important to work hard and learn the material than to stress out over a few points or dwell on a past test that you didn't do as well on as you wanted to.
These are just a few thoughts from the year and lessons that I learned...