My Life

Lister Jones

145-58-3641

Essay 1

Throughout my lifetime I have listened to people reflect back on their college experiences and explain how college is supposed to be "the best experience of your life." The summer after my senior year I use to try and imagine what my first semester was going to be like based on what I had heard people talk about in the past. After my first semester at NC State I realized that I couldn't fully understand what college was like until I experienced it for myself. My first couple of weeks at Ohio State was rough and really tested my strength (mental and physical). I faced challenges and obstacles that I had never heard about in those past college experience conversations. All of a sudden there was no one to get me out of the bed when I hit the snooze button on my alarm clock. There was no one to make me get off the phone or turn off the T.V and go do homework. A curfew no longer existed and my decisions were made based on only my judgment. I can remember missing 8:05 classes because I stayed out too late the night before. In high school the teacher would constantly remind the students when certain assignments were due, but this was not the case in college. I learned that the hard way my first semester. Sometimes I forgot to turn in an assignment because I didn't properly read my syllabus and my professor never mentioned it. These were all new problems that could have easily let escalate without taking the proper actions. For the most part I was doing fairly well but a few of my grades began to plummet. I was losing the confidence in myself and started to wonder if going to college had been the best decision. The time had come for me to grow up and become an adult even I didn't feel the time was right. I immediately began attending tutoring sessions, working with peers and also keeping a daily to-do list. These factors were the eventually led to drastic improvement and success. After my first semester I learned how better manage my time, take advantage of campus resources and also how to organize myself better. These struggles also taught me that sometimes I try and rush through things instead of taking my time. I realized that one of my strong points is being able to really do well when my back is against the wall. Although I was unhappy while facing obstacles