Freshmen Thesis: Reflection Paper Essay

Attending college has been a life changing experience for me this year. As every freshman in college usually come across with problems such as academics, housing, and life on campus There are also unforeseen situations that will come in our way as time goes on. Back then when I was in high school, hearing about college and living the college life was something I could not wait to experience.Some of my friends who made it to college will always tell me things which sometimes intimidate me about attending college but I said to myself, I can also make it regardless of how hard it is. Applying for colleges and meeting all the requirements each school demand was another stressful thing I went through but at end, I gained admission to North Carolina Central University where I am currently majoring in Nursing. As a freshman in North Carolina Central University, there were a lot of struggles I went through and still dealing with some of them.My first week in college as a freshman was very tough because I could not get a dorm on campus due to late application form submission. I was told a day before the move in date and I did not have any clue of where to stay for the semester.

This situation made my parents very upset about the whole housing issues. I was told to stay home for the first semester if I did not get any place to stay but I said to myself I wasn’t going to stay home and waste the whole fall semester.I decided to go look for an apartment close to campus which will be affordable for me to stay in and go to school. It was very stressful finding somewhere close to campus to stay at that moment but God being so good I did find a place which was 10 minute away with access to campus shuttle. Whenever I thought about being away from home, it brings me tears and then again its making me stronger, independent and very active. I was homesick for only three days which wasn’t bad at all when it comes to my situation.The week that classes had not started yet, I decided to use that time to get my other requirements that I wasn’t able to get during the summer and also get to know more about my department and other program department in the school. After my sightseeing in the school, I was a bit disappointed because the buildings were disorganized on my opinion; I really felt bad and depressed also because nothing seems to be right on my first week in college.

I called my mom on the phone when I got to my apartment, cried on her and complained about things in the school and how I didn’t like ow things were done because I wasn’t used to them. My mom kept telling me things were going be better as time goes on and I shouldn’t worry too much. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t have my schedule on so I waited till the beginning of school, that was very stressful too because I had to wait for hours in line before I was able to talk to my advisor. By the time I had the chance to talk to her about my classes; all the classes I wanted to enroll in were all close since I came in late.I didn’t let that discourage me so I registered for any available classes based on my major. As a nursing student, I was hoping to at least get 17 or 18 credits but I didn’t and I wasn’t disappointed either, I ended with 15 credits with five subjects which I was much more comfortable with. Classes officially started, things never got better still complicated and stressful since I was a freshman.

I went to all my classes with labs and observed how things were done in there. After three months, I was able to adopt certain things and made it part of me.Since I wasn’t staying on campus I wasn’t able to participate in a lot of on-campus activities that was held. I wanted to be in a team, organization or club in school so I did some research and I talked to some people who directed me to the right team I wanted to be part. That also became part of my college life I enjoyed most, been part of this team because I met new people and some interesting people which I didn’t have before.

During the homecoming week in the school, it was a stress free week for me because I was able to relax my mind.Some classes were cancelled because of the homecoming activities that were going on, it was the best experience I ever had since I came to school. I participated in some of the homecoming activities and I went to some of the concerts which I really enjoyed myself.

Now coping with team and classes weren’t really a problem till I started having late classes and sometimes I will have to decide on either to go to practice or class but I did what I was supposed to do to be successful because education comes first in my life.Some classes started getting tough for me which made me very frustrated about the whole college life thing again. One thing that always comes in my mind was that, it’s never too late seek for help even though there areother resources I could use to be better in whatever class I was struggling with.

First thing I did was to email my professor about making an appointment with him to talk the topics which I was encountering problems with and how he can help me to excel in his class hich turned out to be helpful. After going to the professor I also decided to sign up for a tutorial section which was more helpful at that moment. I did that for awhile and I began to see a lot of improvements in that class and I took advantage of all extra credits that was being given to us. I made sure I did all my assignments on time. The ups and downs got to me and sometimes I could even cry but then again the stress I went through made me really strong and determined for the semester.

Things I would’ve done differently was making sure I applied for housing on time to be able to get a nice and comfortable dorm with a good roommate so I wouldn’t have worry about where to stay for school. My advice to the incoming students is that they should be alert and always prepare for anything especially getting enrolled in classes, housing, financial aid, and other requirements they will need for school and also not depend on anyone. Again I suggest they make good friends that will help them to be successful not friends that will led them to troubles.