In two weeks, I’ll be halfway through the first semester of my sophomore year. My friends and I have discussed the elusive time phenomenon of our college experience. The days seem to take forever; weeks disappear before you know it, and months fly by. At least once a week, I’ll turn to my best friend, Ale, and say, “Hey, do you remember that thing I was telling you about a few weeks ago?”…and her response is, “Seanna, you told me that two days ago.” Without realizing it, I’ll soon be done with half of my undergraduate experience. What have I learned? How have I changed?
This year, it felt like I hit the ground running. I was back for Sponsor Training (First-year Mentor Program at Pomona…it’s AMAZING!) and Ujima Mentor Training (Self-Identifying Black Student Mentor Program) before school started. The First-Years moved in, school started, and the work began. I started mentoring three other students through two other programs, volleyball class was in full swing, and soon, my showers had to be scheduled. My days are planned from sun-up to sun-down, and yet, homesickness and stress hasn’t set in. Instead, I feel fully enveloped in the campus community.
First question: What have I learned?
– The lessons that I realized first year are still in effect. Procrastination = Harmful to my Health; Time Management = Good for my Health; Laughing = Mandatory for my Health
– Support networks are important. You don’t have to be confined or restricted within a niche, but it’s always comforting to know that you have somewhere to go or people to go to when things get rough.
– Sleep is my life-long best friend. I’ll be sending her a post card for Christmas every year.
– Learning should never cease, and if it has, I must not be paying attention.
Second question: How have I changed? (This will be biased, but introspective)
– My patience has increased tenfold. I can now wait at the copy machine for those 100 pages of reading without tapping my foot.
– My self-confidence has strengthened. I am who I am on this campus and in this world due to my abilities and accomplishments, and while I am impacted by others, I am in possession of my personal power.
– I’m okay with silence. As a people-pleaser and interpersonal worrier, I always felt the need to take it upon myself to involve everyone in dialogue and help maintain the flow of conversation. Now, however, I’m okay with silence at a lunch or dinner table. Private thoughts help calm the mind.
– I recognize the changes, and anticipate more. When I consider everything I was when I arrived fresh out of Arkansas, compared to who I am now, the differences are noticeably distinct. Although I can’t predict what future changes will occur, I know that they’re presently in the making, and I can’t wait for their discoveries.
Just because everything is different doesn’t mean anything has changed. ~Irene Peter
Yes, things will invariably be different for you this year as you enter a new year of school. But instead of noting the differences, be aware of the changes…they make all the difference.