I Just turn 20 recently, and the brief time before and after I became of age, there has been a swell of changes in my life. One of the most prominent is my recent enrollment into IUPUI. Today marks my sixth week in college, and oh boy have there been some lessons. When I started my goal to get into college, failed to realize that getting there would be the easy part of the long long journey ahead of me. I have taken on a four year personal project, where there is a lesson given at every faucet of the week. I’m happy to say it’s going smoothly so far.
I came to understand very soon on my first day of school was the sheer amount of independence the
students have, we’re expected to figure out how to sort, prioritize and complete work from our various class. Boy! I can tell you that fact is still something I’m trying t get my head around, I got so used to being told what to do and when it needs to be done. Its real struggle not to be torn apart by all the work demanding your attention, all equally important. I can tell you, the first two weeks of school are a blur to me, I had no idea what I was doing. On the first day, I’d took the public bus to school, I couldn’t sleep the night before so I dozed off, when I woke up, I panicked, thinking I had missed my stop and got off over two miles early… I walked rest of the way.
Getting to know new people was and still is a struggle for me as well. Remembering your instructor’s name, introducing yourself to your new peers, I learned it’s wise to make friends in class on the chance you can use a hand during or after class , although that also means I’m expected to give the same. The instructors fully expect you to come to them for assistance during their office hours if you need it, so don’t expect them to hold your hand at all or give extension for due assignments outside extreme circumstances. Outside the classroom on campus, I am somewhat bewildered about the amount of time given to me between and after classes. Some days I only have one class, at times I feel tempted to go home on those kind of days but as I soon figured out , those time are best used to study to prepare for other classes or to take equally important academic business.
Being more acute to my financial situation has become essential to my life, spending so much money on lunch in the campus cafeteria. My mentors made it apparent to me all that spending will at up, and you’ll find yourself without money to do things you really want to do. So after painfully understanding the state of my balance sheet, I started bringing lunch.
Money is not the only thing I need to balance. When I first got my assignment from my various classes, I tried to finish 1000% of every 100% of the time and beat myself up for failing to do so. Thankfully before I killed myself during the third week, my long loved mentor told me college is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. I was try to rush to the finish line… a 4 year finish line, it absurd when you sit down and think about, other people who are close or who long graduate from college told you not going to complete school with every single thing 110% completed to our best ability. My entire view of college changed after thinking on what my support said, I can’t power my way through this like in hundred meter dash, I need to be lasting, consistent and patient, keep a balance of my social,work and academic life and finish this 4 year race.