Beyond My Comfort Zone

Beyond My Comfort Zone

College: Clubs, parties, Games, New People, Oh yeah Classes and homework! Many People say your time in college is the best years of your life. I have also heard that years spent at a Historically Black College or University is even better. For many people this is their first big step into independence. With one full year under my belt I can truly say that those same people could have told me about the distractions that went along with the territory. I am here to warn and inform incoming freshmen of the things the website didn't set you up for like a roommate. I also will talk about attending an HBCU that is also a private AME school. Last but not least I am going to tell you how I survived.

"WARNING! Enter at your own risk!" Well even though that's not the intro to most college websites it should be. As a Sophomore I've had time to see what the website and the booklets don't tell. Lets start with the ever so popular "I'm grown and out of my parents house, so being out until 3 and 4 in the morning is okayÐ'..." Well contrary to popular belief going to bed at 4am and going to class at 8am isn't a great combination. Just because you make it to class on time doesn't mean you are fully alert, which may cause you to miss important information. With this newfound glory of independence many learn a very hard lesson one missed class leads to another missed class. Don't let

this become a habit. Freshmen Year it was very hard for me to balance my time. Between classes, social time and all the many organizations I wanted to be a part of. Always remember your academics come first. Never compromise your classes. Letting time get the best of me I often found myself lost in many other things trying to balance everything I wanted to do. Trying to enjoy my social life became a hindrance to my academics. The hardest lesson I learned as an new face to the crowd was that you don't have to fit all four years into one. Being new to the yard I did everything the university offered. Every event that was posted my friends and I were there. Freshmen year really develops you into a responsible person.

My roommate being my new found best friend was truly a blessing. Being dumped in a room with a complete stranger is asking for drama right? Well, not all the time. My roommate last year was a total blessing to me. It took our friendship and bond to keep me together. Growing close to this strange person who was in my space was what saved me from letting my social life ruin my academic one. After mid-term week she really felt close enough to me to tell me that my social life was going to end up sending me home if I didn't get it together. With that wake up call I slowly ended my late nights and replaced them with early mornings. I can truly say that this could have only happened at a small private school.

As an AME P.K. attending an HBCU and an AME University was great news to both my family and members of my church. They each had this perfect vision of a school in their heads. "Classes about religion, a very strong campus ministry and a large group of devoted group of Christian students" Yeah they got the classes and the campus

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