When I Began My College Career, Essay Example

When I began my college career, I was slightly nervous about the challenges that I would face. Unlike my high school, which was housed in only a small building, I became faced with a large campus with thousands of students instead of just hundreds. Since I spent four years in high school, I knew all of the teachers and most of the students. When I started college, I recognized that it was likely that I would never have the opportunity to even pass by a majority of the students and teachers. Because of this, I knew that it would take me a long time to get used to college and I was worried that this was alter my academic performance. In the beginning, I wanted to study, but I wasn’t even able to find the library without asking about three students along the way. (I couldn’t help but think they would talk about me after I asked, commenting that I was a stupid “freshman”).

However, I believe that I’ve come a long way since then and that the experience has helped prepare me to adjust well to new things across the board. I realized that I was nervous not only because a new school would mean that I would need to make new friends and take harder classes, but also that I had to figure out what I wanted to eat for each meal and do my laundry. While I had to do some of these things of my own when I was in high school, my family was always there to guide me and help out. But, not anymore.

I remember walking to my first college course on the first day of school through a courtyard that appeared to be at least a mile long. “Gee”, I thought, “I hope this is the right building!” It turned out that I travelled to the correct classroom and the correct building, but I ended up arriving 5 minutes late. I supposed that my walk must have been way longer than I had originally thought, and that it might be worth it for me to invest in a bike. Fortunately, I had arrived earlier than the professor, and had the chance to look around nervously at the other students that had signed up for the course as well. The silence of the room indicated that they were nervous as well, and most likely freshman, which I realized made sense because it was an introductory English class.

I caught eyes with one of my classmates, awkwardly, and then quickly walked away. The class was a blur for me, even though I do remember that the professor spoke about some important things that I should be able to remember, but was too nervous to focus on. After class, I spoke to a few of my classmates, who at the recommendation of the professor, stated that it would be a good idea to start a study group. I wasn’t too into the idea of studying with other students because of the extra time that would be involved, but decided it would be a good way to meet new people, so I listened.

Over time, I became close friends with my study group, and our friendship actually helped our ability to perform well in class. After getting my first essay grade back, I was happy that I had discussed it with my new friends to ensure that I was not missing any of the required elements and that it was grammatically correct. Ultimately, this experience showed me that college was easier and more fun when working with other students, although I would have never thought this was the case before the start of the school year.

After this initial year, my study group made a pact to take many of the same classes so that we could continue to succeed together. Even though we all belonged to very different majors, we fortunately had many overlapping general education requirements, so we determined which classes would best fit in all of our schedules so we could take them together. We believed that if we were able to tackle the challenges of college together that we would be invincible, and this was the case for some time. That is, until, one of our group members decided to transfer to another school.

When Lisa left to attend a school in a different state, we were all heartbroken and felt betrayed. While we were sad for some time, we recognized that dealing with this sort of change is an important part of life, and was a lesson that only college could prepare us for. My friendship with Lisa and the rest of the group was special because we helped each other feel more comfortable in our new surroundings. With her gone, we somehow felt less secure.

Lisa’s decision to leave made us recognize that despite changes, we could continue to be strong and succeed in school. Even without Lisa, we continued to get good grades on the essays and tests we worked on together, and we even recognized that we were able to make new friends outside of our small group. The fact that Lisa left certainly changed our lives, and we will always miss the time that we spent with her, but it helped us grow as well.

From this experience, I learned that college is challenging, but it is possible to adapt. All I needed to do was recognize that there were others like me, just as nervous, to be able to move on. As a result, I am a better person. College forces us to adapt to new situations, and grow as a result.