irvin-85College is, in a few words, is a mixture of emotions, conflicts, successes, self-realizations, ever-increasing responsibility and many falls; these very same reasons are why I love college. As I have mentioned before, college is a continuous humbling experience, always teaching you a lesson with every instance that occurs. The second quarter that I have spent in college has been the most academically challenging time period of my life. Three classes at a time might not seem as much but believe me, at the pace that these classes go, you are gasping for fresh air every Wednesday and feel a huge relief once Friday comes around. Since everything is so fast paced, you cannot waste any time, specially if you are taking a science or math course. Physics in college is very, very different from physics in high school and I have come to realize that the hard way. Never had I felt so overwhelmed by the material of  class until I sat in a physics lecture which covered an entire chapter in less than an hour and a half. My other two classes added even more stress to the already stressful term and not to mention that the harsh New England temperatures did not help my situation. Yet,  despite the stress and the cold, snowy nights, I have to say that I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love the intellectual, and at times, even physical challenge that college poses. College tests what you are really made of and I love that. Yes, I could do without the stress and without the pressure that grows greater as the term goes on, but I believe that this is preparation of what is to come. I’d rather be challenged out of my comfort zone and grow than simply remain comfortable and not develop as an individual. I had to make hard decisions, such as deciding to withdraw from my physics course, thus changing my intended major from engineering to totally undecided. Yet, all of this is experience from which I can draw from in the future. All of what I am going through is experience for what will be the real world, stress, hard decisions, work, but at the same time, there is also great relationships that are formed along the way. I will talk more about that in the next post, but until then, seniors, stay strong! And juniors, start studying for the ACT!