Wrapping Up the Semester: Final Blog Post

            Is college like high school? Will the work be hard? Where will I park? Will my teachers be nice? Did I make the right decision by commuting? Where can I go for extra help? These were all questions going through my head when college, and the next chapter of my life began. In all honesty, I was really nervous for college because I had no idea what to expect. I realized I was growing up and this was the point in my life where independence and self-responsibility was key for success. 

            Looking back now, after completing my first semester, all those thoughts, questions, and mixed feelings are gone. I have learned so much this semester more so than I ever did in high school. Not only have I obtained information from my courses but I have also found out a lot about myself, which previously, I had never realized.  Most importantly, I have learned that I am capable of anything I set my mind to. Although I feel I have learned so much throughout the past 18 years of my life, and especially this semester, I have come to realize that in life you never stop learning and right now I’m in the beginning stages of mine. Although, this may discourage many people thinking they have so many more classes to take and so many more years of school, for me, it’s the opposite. I feel that I have found a major that I am truly passionate about and this motivates me to keep learning and eventually, pursue my career.

            This semester I have been extremely proud of myself in regards to my achievements. In the beginning of the year, I was extremely nervous to get back my first test in college, which happened to be a math test. In high school I always did okay in math but it definitely wasn’t my strongest subject. When tests were passed back I realized I had gotten a 98. I was so excited! This really was a great confidence booster and an accomplished feeling. Starting college, one major personal goal of mine was to achieve good grades in all my classes. Its safe to say that now I have close to all A’s in all my classes and I am extremely proud of myself. I feel my grades truly reflect on how hard I have been working.

Even though I have been quite pleased with my performance this semester, with success comes challenges and luckily, I have only faced a few this semester. I’m the type of person who gets really stressed out when I have a lot of work to complete. I have handled this problem by using my time wisely and improving my time management skills. My daily and overall schedule I write out for myself has also decreased my stress level. Both have enabled me to work in an efficient and relaxed manner. Math class has also been somewhat of a challenge for me. As the semester progressed the material got harder and I realized I was going to have to work harder and put in extra hours if I wanted to get a good grade in the class. Luckily, my hard work paid off and I have an A in the class, I even took advantage of my teacher’s office hours and she was a big help.

Southern’s resources have really helped me this semester and contributed to my good grades. Because I am a commuter, the library happens to be the most helpful resource for me. I went to the library a lot in between my classes to do assignments and study. I would recommend the library to anyone who wants to focus on their work considering there are few, if any, distractions at all. Like I mentioned earlier, I also took advantage of my teacher’s office hours when I needed to get a little extra help on math before the midterm. I also visited the writing center once with a friend of mine, but never actually got to submit a paper they could revise. I definitely plan on using this resource next semester.

Along with learning everything else, I have figured out what techniques work for me and what don’t.  Habits I have developed have really helped me get good grades this semester. One being, discovering when I work best. I’ve noticed that I work best in the afternoon. A few times this semester I caught myself doing homework late at night. This work ends up not being my best work because I find myself rushing through because I am tired. I have also found it helpful to put away distractions because it helps me to stay concentrated on the topic at hand. These realizations are helping me maximize my learning.

Assessing where I am, based on the goals I had set for myself beginning college, I feel I am currently where I had hoped I would be ending this semester. I feel my hard work, drive, and motivation is what really got me through this semester successfully.  I am extremely proud of the good grades I have achieved and I plan to stay on track for the many semesters to come. Throughout the rest of my college career I plan to practice agency, creativity and autonomy. Inquiry class has helped me realize the importance of all three of these words and how beneficial they are to college students seeking a career.

Lastly, I’ve posted a few photos representing some of the people in my life who I love and have always supported me throughout my life and endeavors.

Campus Safari #6: Campus Radio Station

               Since finals are coming up and I’m a commuter I decided to choose a campus safari I could do from home. I logged onto the campus site and wasn’t pleased to find that the radio station website is nearly bare with hardly any information. However what I did find is that WSIN 1590 radio station informs the campus of student and University activities and news events; provides entertainment suited to the tastes of the student body as a whole; and promotes student participation and unity within the University community. I wish there was more information or a way for me to listen live online because I think a campus radio station is really good idea. 

Success & Failure Assessment: 1st Semester

           This past semester I have really learned a lot. Although I would consider my first semester’s grades to be a success, it took a lot of hard work and determination to get there. Along the way, I definitely encountered a few challenges, like most college students. In the beginning Southern’s large campus intimidated me and it was hard to get used to a new environment. Along with a new environment I had to get used to a greater workload compared to high school. A class I found challenging was my math class. I’ve never been the best at math so in order for me to achieve a self-satisfying grade I had to work hard and do extra problems for more practice.

            Looking back now I realize I have had a lot of successes throughout my college experience. Although I nervous at first and had mixed feelings about what college would be like, like anything, everything takes time to get used to and it wasn’t so bad after all. My time management skills have definitely improved with my increase in work and increased busy schedule. I’m always able to complete work on time or early by following my mapped out daily schedule. As of now, I currently have an A- in my math class. I’m satisfied with this grade and I feel it reflects how hard I worked in the class.

            Another big success for me was getting a 98 on my first test in college. For me, that was a big confident booster and definitely made my day. It was also a satisfying feeling checking my grades and seeing mostly A’s. Also this semester I’ve met a lot of new friends who I plan to see next semester as well. All and all, first semester was a success and I plan to keep up the hard work!

Final Blog Post Progress

         Since finals week is coming up, I’ve decided to get a head start on all my final projects, including my final blog post. My goal is to finish all my final projects for my classes by the end of this week, so next week I can focus on studying for my finals. So far my final blog post is coming along quite well.

            On a sheet of paper I answered all the questions posted on blogger on what to include in the final post. I put a lot of thought into each question and answered them with a great detail of detail. I think this will make writing the final post a lot easier.

            I plan to make my final blog post very engaging and unique. I would like to start by addresses my thoughts and routines before college following my thoughts and routines mid way through the semester, and how I feel about college life now.

            I’ve realized these past few months I have really learned a lot. Not only information in particular subjects, but I have also learned a lot about who I am as a person, how I work best, and what I want to do with my life. I feel including that in my blog is really important.

            Lastly, I would like to write about the certain challenges I have faced and overcame or are still working on since the beginning of the semester. All and all, I have been pretty happy with my grades and work ethic the past few months and I plan on keeping up the hard work next semester. 

Study Habits Video Project

Library Session: Autonomy

            Today in the library our instructor Wendy was really helpful and showed us how to take advantage of the library’s resources. I go to the library quite often to do homework and study but I never knew how to look up a book or take one out until today. I also learned how helpful the SCSU library website can be when finding/ looking up a book and articles as well.

            Researching about autonomy I found a lot of useful information. What is autonomy? According to the Oxford English Dictionary, autonomy is the condition or right of state, institution, group to make its own laws and rules and administer own affairs, self-governing and independence. 

            Aside from our research in class today, I did some of my own research as well. In the Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy I found a sentence that really struck my attention about being autonomous: “To be autonomous is to be one's own person, to be directed by considerations, desires, conditions, and characteristics that are not simply imposed externally upon one, but are part of what can somehow be considered one's authentic self.” To me, this means an autonomous person sets their own goals and motivation based on a set of values they have created for themselves. I think in college an autonomous person will go a long way because they have self-motivation, there is no external force pushing them forward besides their mind.

            I am very interested in learning about our final topic on autonomy. So for in Inquiry I have learned a lot about myself and others based on the topics we have covered and our class discussions. I hope to implement agency, creativity and autonomy throughout my years to come in college and the rest of my life.