Ellen-Christine Harris
3:00 Class
Reflective Essay
As a freshman here at Old Dominion University, I can honestly say that I am still growing. As traveling on this journey, since the first day of classes I have had many ups and downs and experiencing better days than others. I do not regret anything because it is sculpting me as the person I will become in the future and I will look back and congratulate myself on a job well done. Coming into college, I didn’t know what to expect nor did I know how to handle all of my classes along with keeping up my social life. Each month I became more comfortable and was able to do my work more effectively. As I became better , I developed goals for myself.
Developing into a new college student is hard work, so many distractions can tear focus down in a instant. As a victim of distractions I learned to block anything out that’s not helping me grow as a person or helping me pay for my tuition. When I first got here I was thinking I will succeed with flying colors as I have done in my high school career. Me having tunnel vision of my future I became culture shocked and almost did the complete opposite. At the time, failing was an option that I took well; college is nothing like high school. Next semester, I made a vow to myself that I will not have distractions dictate my future. Coming from AP courses in high school, I thought I had aced my WSPT but I did not, but I’m glad I didn’t. This class had taught me to think outside of the box and to become accustomed to college writing first hand. And from there I began to learn more.
Learning does not always mean new material in the classroom, but it can also be from life lessons and experiences that gives a different perspective on life itself. I’ve kearned many valuable life lesson I do not wish to repeat and I’ve discovered different personalities in my old friends and new friends. In college, it’s all a game and how a person will play the game, determines victory or failure. There’s a math problem that all of us are apart of, we are all here for a reason to succeed in life. My parents are my angels to guidance whenever I have problems at school, they are wise and have been through it all. The number one priority they told me was to keep in mind to love myself and keep God first in everything I do. I’d be nothing is it wasn’t for him and his will, I would still be blinded by the smoke screen people portray themselves to be. Time does not need to be rushed for any reason and as I continue to grow I will continue to make goals for myself and achieve them to my highest capability.
My goal that I met already was to go to college. I knew that it would make my parents proud and myself since my parents didn’t have the opportunity to go to college. It’s a lot of weight on my shoulders to please everyone, but myself comes first as always. Having a goal to go to college was a definite. I made sure my grades were right and my mind was focused. I maintained my GPA but as a poor test taker, my SAT and ACT scores were not at their best. Having that bump in the road almost had my give up on my dreams but having a high GPA allowed me to still have my dreams a reality. I still have skills I can work on for myself to become a better person. Test taking is my number one issue I have and in order to grow and become better I need to practice and have enthusiasm. College is an extreme eye opener for me and I’m still learnning each day I can become a better me and to look back at my past as a blessing and not a curse.
Freshman year will probably be my roughest year here and it will be where I learn the most information and life lessons. As a young woman I need to not let my social life take a toll over what’s important, which is my education and making good grades each semester. Partying and going out all the time will not help me reach my goals any faster or better. I’ve learned that everyone is not my friend, no matter how they may act or seem, it is all a smokescreen of the real person. I’ve learned that I have to learn to love myself before anyone else. In reality all I have is myself and God. I can’t depend on everyone else because mostly their presence is only temporary. I’m very happy of the person I am becoming and I hope to learn and grow more each year as I am here. And when I finally earn my PhD in Psychology, I can officially say I made my lifetime goal and I made it through the the storm and I am successful.