Student Development

Journal Assignment # 2: Student Development Theory.

Let me start by talking about why I traveled across half the globe to come study in a small liberal arts college in the US. I could have stayed back in Pakistan, live with my parents, study in a decent local university but I chose not to. Instead I came to Ohio Wesleyan. I knew that if I had stayed back, I would have been in one way or another dependent on my family. It is not as bad as it sounds to be dependent on your family but I have always enjoyed doing my things myself and being independent.

Coming to Ohio Wesleyan gave me a chance to explore the world around me but most importantly explore myself. When teens graduate from high school, they have a strong sense of purpose and feel confident about themselves and what they believe in. But when they enter college life, that is adult life, they find their ideas being challenged by the people around them. I wanted to face this challenge, not that I thought of myself being right at all times but because I wanted to grow more both emotionally and intellectually by interacting with different people who have different opinions than my own.

Life is all about struggle. Many people face life in a positive way, many don't. But, at the end of the day, it's important to realize that there would be no life if there wasn't any struggle. Anne Bradstreet once said: "If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome." It would be a lie if I say that I have not struggled in settling in OWU. The change in the educational system seemed very overwhelming to me initially but I knew that getting used to the changes would take time. Time management also seemed like a problem very difficult to get over in my first few days. However, with perseverance I was able to get over my little problems which seemed like a mountain in the beginning.

High school to college life is a drastic change. It was even more pronounced for me since I was in a completely new world with different cultures, ideas and ways of life. It was only when my plane landed in America that I realized about the completely new life I was going to start. A life where I won't have the security of my parents which I have taken for granted over the past 18 years. I found myself both excited and anxious entering