Freshman Year (2013 - 2014)
As excited as I was to come to the University of Cincinnati in August, I have to admit, I was terrified. I had spent my entire life in a small town just north of Cincinnati, an only child who had gone to school with the same exact people for thirteen years. It was hard to stomach the thought of constantly being surrounded by strangers in my dorm and in my classes, but, as I so cleverly bought a plaque to remind me, "courage is taking those first steps to your dream even if you can't see the path ahead." It turns out, no amount of college prep classes nor any amount of daydreaming about my future at UC could have ever prepared me for my freshman year. These past eight months were filled with lots of laughter, tears, stress and memories, but I wouldn't change anything for the world.
Academically, my first semester was a challenge. Having only experienced small classes with lots of teacher supervision and help, simply stepping into my lecture classes was a shock. Unlike in high school, coursework and the material no longer came as easily as opening the textbook. I learned very quickly that college courses were as challenging as people had warned me. My only courses first semester were my general sciences and a math class, so when the material didn't come as naturally as I was used to, I became very discouraged and began to constantly doubt my choice in major, which I had been very confident in choosing months before. Science classes were not as enjoyable as they had once been, and it felt like a struggle to study and work hard towards a major I was unsure about. It was difficult to watch my friends going out and having fun while I had to stay in and study and do homework many nights, but I powered through the rest of the semester, determined to make a change in my attitude and to figure out if I truly wanted to major in Health Sciences. I was elated when fall semester ended, and aimed for a far less stressful spring semester.
I was well prepared for spring semester. I knew what to expect in nearly all of my classes, and decided to experiment and take more interesting courses than simply the requirements for my major to see if I could find a subject I was truly passionate about. While these courses may not have pointed me in the right direction when it came to possibly changing my major, they showed me that there was so much more to college than just taking stressful, unenjoyable classes. While branching out opened my mind up to choosing a career other than one in physical therapy, I came to the conclusion after my classes were over that the health field is where I am meant to be. While I never exactly got the hang of my science classes like I had hoped I would, I truly feel as if I learned a lesson from them: nothing in life comes easy, and you're always going to have to put work into something if you hope to get anything out of it. My positive attitude spring semester led to me being happier, less stressed, and hopeful that all my confusion with my major would work out. I focused more on studying and working efficiently than I did on my stress, which resulted in far better grades than I received my first semester. While I still am not completely confident in my major, I know I will soon find the health-related major that I am truly passionate about and to choose a future career that will make long nights spent studying and stressful courses seem worth it.
If I had to give my freshman year a theme, I would, without a doubt, say it was "branching out." Academically, I stepped out of my comfort zone by experimenting with non-required courses during spring semester. Volunteer-wise, during fall semester I joined a program called Bearcat Buddies, which allows UC students to go to various schools in the Cincinnati Public School system and tutor the students. I have never been confident in my ability to teach others, so volunteering to do so once a week terrified me. I soon came to find, though, that the rewards of tutoring were far greater than any insecurities towards teaching others that I had. The wonderful feeling of serving others, forming connections with them and making a difference in their lives is one that I won't soon forget, and both my fall semester at Roll Hill School and my spring semester at Hays-Porter Elementary reaffirmed my choice in majoring in something where serving others was the focus.
Socially, I have my roommates to thank for encouraging me to branch out. Though we were nearly strangers at the beginning of the year, Brittney, Emily, Kirsten and I bonded almost effortlessly our first month of school. I am so incredibly thankful for them and all their support, and I don't think I would have survived the year had I roomed with anyone different. Their encouragement helped me decide to take interesting classes second semester, to join Bearcat Buddies. Most importantly, without my roommates, I would never have gone through sorority recruitment. After hearing from Brittney and Emily that they were going through recruitment, I made a last minute decision to join myself, figuring that if I didn't end up liking it, I would have at least had an interesting weekend and gotten a t-shirt out of it. Little did I know that three weeks after making that decision that I would end up joining Chi Omega! Becoming a sister of Chi Omega fraternity changed my life. I have made so many incredible friends and had some of the best times of my life thanks to going Greek. My Big Sister, Rebecca, is my role model and my rock, and I'm grateful for her support during the rough times throughout the year and her constant encouragement.
Freshman year was even better than I imagined it would be. While not the easiest of times, I learned this year that college, like life, is a journey. I have grown so much in the past eight months because of my failures, and because of my successes. I am not the same person I was at the beginning of the year. I feel my freshman year can be summed up with a quote from one of my favorite authors, J.K. Rowling, "It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default."
Here's to the best eight months of my life, and to hoping that my sophomore year will be just as amazing!
Academically, my first semester was a challenge. Having only experienced small classes with lots of teacher supervision and help, simply stepping into my lecture classes was a shock. Unlike in high school, coursework and the material no longer came as easily as opening the textbook. I learned very quickly that college courses were as challenging as people had warned me. My only courses first semester were my general sciences and a math class, so when the material didn't come as naturally as I was used to, I became very discouraged and began to constantly doubt my choice in major, which I had been very confident in choosing months before. Science classes were not as enjoyable as they had once been, and it felt like a struggle to study and work hard towards a major I was unsure about. It was difficult to watch my friends going out and having fun while I had to stay in and study and do homework many nights, but I powered through the rest of the semester, determined to make a change in my attitude and to figure out if I truly wanted to major in Health Sciences. I was elated when fall semester ended, and aimed for a far less stressful spring semester.
I was well prepared for spring semester. I knew what to expect in nearly all of my classes, and decided to experiment and take more interesting courses than simply the requirements for my major to see if I could find a subject I was truly passionate about. While these courses may not have pointed me in the right direction when it came to possibly changing my major, they showed me that there was so much more to college than just taking stressful, unenjoyable classes. While branching out opened my mind up to choosing a career other than one in physical therapy, I came to the conclusion after my classes were over that the health field is where I am meant to be. While I never exactly got the hang of my science classes like I had hoped I would, I truly feel as if I learned a lesson from them: nothing in life comes easy, and you're always going to have to put work into something if you hope to get anything out of it. My positive attitude spring semester led to me being happier, less stressed, and hopeful that all my confusion with my major would work out. I focused more on studying and working efficiently than I did on my stress, which resulted in far better grades than I received my first semester. While I still am not completely confident in my major, I know I will soon find the health-related major that I am truly passionate about and to choose a future career that will make long nights spent studying and stressful courses seem worth it.
If I had to give my freshman year a theme, I would, without a doubt, say it was "branching out." Academically, I stepped out of my comfort zone by experimenting with non-required courses during spring semester. Volunteer-wise, during fall semester I joined a program called Bearcat Buddies, which allows UC students to go to various schools in the Cincinnati Public School system and tutor the students. I have never been confident in my ability to teach others, so volunteering to do so once a week terrified me. I soon came to find, though, that the rewards of tutoring were far greater than any insecurities towards teaching others that I had. The wonderful feeling of serving others, forming connections with them and making a difference in their lives is one that I won't soon forget, and both my fall semester at Roll Hill School and my spring semester at Hays-Porter Elementary reaffirmed my choice in majoring in something where serving others was the focus.
Socially, I have my roommates to thank for encouraging me to branch out. Though we were nearly strangers at the beginning of the year, Brittney, Emily, Kirsten and I bonded almost effortlessly our first month of school. I am so incredibly thankful for them and all their support, and I don't think I would have survived the year had I roomed with anyone different. Their encouragement helped me decide to take interesting classes second semester, to join Bearcat Buddies. Most importantly, without my roommates, I would never have gone through sorority recruitment. After hearing from Brittney and Emily that they were going through recruitment, I made a last minute decision to join myself, figuring that if I didn't end up liking it, I would have at least had an interesting weekend and gotten a t-shirt out of it. Little did I know that three weeks after making that decision that I would end up joining Chi Omega! Becoming a sister of Chi Omega fraternity changed my life. I have made so many incredible friends and had some of the best times of my life thanks to going Greek. My Big Sister, Rebecca, is my role model and my rock, and I'm grateful for her support during the rough times throughout the year and her constant encouragement.
Freshman year was even better than I imagined it would be. While not the easiest of times, I learned this year that college, like life, is a journey. I have grown so much in the past eight months because of my failures, and because of my successes. I am not the same person I was at the beginning of the year. I feel my freshman year can be summed up with a quote from one of my favorite authors, J.K. Rowling, "It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default."
Here's to the best eight months of my life, and to hoping that my sophomore year will be just as amazing!