As I take a look back on my first semester, I feel very grateful as a lot went my way. In terms of the good, I was able to find a great friend group, stay on top of my work, and somehow avoid being a freshman 15. I think that these all went well because I made an effort at them. I was social and introduced myself to a lot of people, planned out time to do my assignments, and watched what I was eating. 

When it comes to things that were bad, although few, I think the biggest problem I had this semester was getting into a structured routine. At home, I had a very strict schedule with going to the gym and school, but I was not as strict when I got to college. One thing I could have done differently is choosing to go to the gym either before I have class, or going at night and hanging out with my friends for an hour less. I fell into a kind of FOMO in that if I skipped out on social outings, I would feel as though I was missing out on a great time. While this was okay one or two times, I fell into a trap of pushing the gym to the side, which left me feeling slightly out of my normal mindset, as the gym is not just something I do for health reasons, but also for leisure reasons.  

As I move into the spring semester, I am going to try and be very deliberate with my time. I want to plan my day from start to finish, including school time, social time, and time for the gym and other personal leisure activities. I think that this will help my overall mental health, and pour over into all areas of my life.

This semester, I have grown as a writer, but at the same time, I have felt like I haven’t in some ways. When we were doing the Annotated Bib, I felt confident and knew what I was doing, and understood the assignment. But when we were doing the SFD, I didn’t really understand the assignment as well as the annotated bib, so I felt like I lost my confidence because I didn’t understand the assignment as well as the other one. Also I was prograssanating becuse I didnt understand so I felt like i was loosing my confidence. I am going to use the skills that I learn and move forward by using them on papers that I write in my career, throughout my life, and when I message someone. Each discipline that we learn, like structure, language, and reference, I will take these disciplines and use them when I teach becuse you need to remember when it is appropriate to use certain words. Like, for example, in first grade, you won’t use big words that adults would know because the students wouldn’t understand what you are talking about. When you are writing a paper, you need to know when it is the right time to use a certain structure. When you need a reference, you need to know how to use it properly so you don’t plagiarize and get in trouble. I believe that I will take all that we learn and use it when I need to write emails, papers, lesson plans, and more as a teacher. I can also take everything that we learned and use it when I am just texting my friends or emailing other people. Some people might take things to heart if you don’t put it in a structure or language they can understand.

Honestly, when I look back at this semester, I can actually see how much I have grown as a write; even if I did not notice it while it was happening. At the beginning, I kind of just wrote the way I always do; straight-to-the-point, emotional when I need to be, and in my own voice. But throughout this class, I have learned how to adjust that without losing who I am in my writing. I don’t feel like I have to sound “perfect” or “dumb it down” just to get it right.

My confidence definitely grew too. I used to second-guess myself a lot, especially with academic writing, because it always felt like there were so many things I could mess up. But now I feel like I understand the structure behind different types of writing. I know what teachers actually want, and I know how to make my writing fit their expectations while still keeping it me. That took so much stress off of myself..

The biggest thing I learned is that different disciplines write in completely different ways. Psychology writing isn’t the same as English writing, and English writing isn’t the same as science writing. Once I realized that, everything felt way more easier. Instead of trying to fit everything into one style, I learned how to switch my tone, structure, and references depending on what I am doing.

I know these skills are going to help me as I move deeper into my psych major. I want to help people, and writing clearly and intentionally is something I am always going to need. This class actually made me feel more prepared for that. Overall, I am proud of how far I have come, and I feel more grounded in my own voice than I did at the start of the semester.

Angel.

When I look back at my first semester at Longwood, it honestly feels like a lot happened in such a short amount of time. There were moments where I felt really confident and like I was getting the hang of everything, and other moments where I was stressed and trying to keep myself together. But overall, I can definitely say this semester taught me a lot about myself and how I handle being in a new place.

What went good was how comfortable I eventually got on campus and in my classes. At first, I felt a little unsure about everything, but over time I started to understand my routine, what my professors expected, and how to keep up with the workload without losing myself in the process. I also got better at speaking up when I needed help or when something did not make sense, and that honestly helped way more than I thought it would.

But not everything went perfectly. My stress levels were probably the worst part. I let myself get overwhelmed pretty easily, and sometimes I waited too long to start things, which only made it worse. Balancing school, my personal life, and just the adjustment of being in college was not easy. I know some of the pressure I felt came from me trying to handle everything on my own instead of using the resources around me.

Moving forward, I want to do better with my time and actually stick to what I plan instead of pushing things off. I also want to be more patient with myself when things get heavy, because I tend to spiral fast. And honestly, I want to use more of what Longwood offers, whether that is academic help or just taking breaks when I need them.

Even with the ups and downs, I’m proud of myself for getting through my first semester and learning from it.

Angel.

My first semester here at Longwood was not how I really expected to be, I thought that it was going to be more chaotic since it was my first time being away from home and family. But after graduation I was so ready to move on with my life and start a new chapter where I could be independent and continue my education. As time went by I felt more comfortable with my classes and the idea of sharing a dorm with 5 other girls was no longer an issue. I learned that the only place where I can actually concentrate was at the library, specially the single rooms with white boards included, it is my go to place for every time I need to study for an exam and get work done. Chemistry was the class that I mostly struggle just because some of the quizzes where a little complicated. Thankfully, attending tutoring and visiting my professor during office hours really helped me and ever since then, I have passed almost all of my quizzes.

I never struggle as much with the rest of my classes as much as I did with chemistry, yet I had a small amount of accidents where I have missed the opportunity to turn in assignments. Ever since then I purchased an agenda. Owning an agenda was one of the greatest things I ever did, not only I have it on a notebook, but I also own an electronic one. both helped me stay on top of everything and prevent missing assignments. I have not missed any class so far which is great because I haven’t had the need to catch up on things, and showing up it helped me staying on top of everything.

I do believe that putting more effort than what I did this semester on my future classes is something I need to work on, just because I have now a sense of what college life is and that each semester is always a new challenge I have to over come, and the only way I can do it is by putting more hours into studying and reaching out to professors more often. I learned that one of the effective way to do better in class is by attending to office hours and doing one on one sessions where I can go over any concerns. My goal is to get comfortable with it and not fear reaching out for extra help.

Overall, I feel as if I have grown tremendously throughout this semester. I started out unsure with my writing abilities and how I perceived my writing to be, however, I have grown extremely confident with myself and turning in assignments. I have always felt a lack of interest in what I write but I have learned that enjoying writing quite literally determines how well you will do. When writing, I always imagine myself to be more professional because I believe it is what the professors are looking for, although after some heavy feedback I realized that professors want to hear your own voice and not what you think they want to hear. I started out as a non-English major but I have become more inclined to write with the structures and lessons I have learned in my writing courses. Moving forward, I will apply my confidence to all writing assignments. My future self will learn from the grades I have received this semester and apply what I might have done good and fix what I might have done wrong. Learning about the different disciplines in writing will really help me when I get into classes that have those different modes. The separate writing styles will come through throughout all of college and the classes I might take will seem easier as I have the writing inclination. I plan on being a professor and these different disciplines find themselves apparent in all classes and things similar. There is a lot of schooling tied to becoming a professor, so these disciplines will assist in the classes I have to take in the future. I trust that referencing will be apparent in all classes so it is a tremendous help to learn about them as soon as possible so I am not stuck in the future, which is what this class has helped out with. Language is another important note to have when it comes to writing, I hope that I have accumulated a ton of different language points that will amplify my writing in the future. I am really appreciative of what I have learned this semester and thankful for the confidence boost I have gained. 

This semester helped me grow as a writer. I’ve learned that writing is a process, not something you get perfect on the first try. I’m more confident now because I know how to revise with purpose and focus on clarity based on who my target audience is.

One of the biggest things I learned is that different disciplines use different structure, language, and reference styles. That was new to me. I also learned about the “They Say, I Say” format, which helped me organize my arguments more clearly. And I didn’t realize until this class that I’m actually allowed to use “normalspeak” instead of “academicspeak” all the time. I cannot use contractions and write in a way that sounds more natural, depending on the assignment. I don’t know why that never stuck in my prior school, but it made writing feel less intimidating.

Since I’m going into business and applied science, I’ll need to write clearly and professionally. This class taught me how to adjust my tone, structure, and language depending on the audience and purpose. That’s something I’ll definitely use in future classes and in my career.

One of the biggest takeaways for me is realizing that I write much better than I speak. English is my second language, and I often feel insecure when talking. I don’t always feel articulate in conversation, but writing gives me time to think and express myself clearly. That’s something I’m proud of and will continue to rely on.

If I could do anything differently, I would’ve used Notebook LM to filter out all the wordiness from the Academic Writing chapter. That would’ve helped me focus on the key points and made it easier to learn. I also would’ve read the rubrics more carefully before starting assignments. Sometimes I missed small details that could’ve helped me meet the expectations more clearly and avoid confusion.

These skills will help me in college and in my future career in forensic accounting. I’ll need to explain complex financial issues to people who may not have a technical background, and writing will be one of the best ways I can do that. This class gave me tools to communicate clearly, think critically, and write with more confidence.