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.

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.

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.

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.

This semester has been full of ups and downs. When I moved in, I was anxious but also excited to start this new chapter in my life. A lot of my anxiety vanished once I realized everyone else was in the same boat. The first week was very easy considering it was just orientation and boring presentations. When classes started, I was able to make lots of new friends. On the other hand, things got very chaotic with the start of classes, and my free time started to decrease which I was not a fan of that. There were weekends where I was in the library all day because I had so much work to do. My hardest class is anatomy and physiology because it contains so much material for each test I set aside social activities outside of schoolwork. Besides schoolwork, throughout the first few weeks my roommates and I clicked instantly. We have had slight disagreements within the semester, but I feel like that is a normal thing when you live in close quarters with others. I think next year we are still planning on living together because we all get along pretty well. Along with all the good things come bad things as well. In the middle of the semester I got overwhelmed with all my schoolwork and I started falling behind. Some of my grades started slipping and I had no social life. Thankfully my roommates helped me at a low time. I know when I need help, I can ask them especially when my new classes start next semester. Another thing that has helped me through this semester is going to the gym consistently. The gym has been a great outlet, and I plan on carrying this habit into next semester. For the spring semester I plan on planning out my week before it starts to help with time management.

Even though writing was something I never enjoyed doing in class I am very grateful that most of my assignments were about writing because It prepared me for what I am expected to know and do for the rest of my life. I was never good at writing but I think since starting college and having some tools provided such as books and school resources that talked about what makes someone a good writer, it helped me see writing in a different way and I think I have improved in some way. There is a lot to work on in my writing but I think I am more confident moving forward with these new skills for my major where I will have plenty of lab reports that I will be doing and one of the required skills is scientific writing. I no longer see writing as a frustration subject but rather a challenge that I can overcome if I propose myself to it. I think it’s just a matter of time, commitment and patience to become better writer

Knowing differences in things like structure, language, and reference, is essential in order for a reader to understand what they are reading, the order the writer takes from the beginning to the end, the language it is written whether is formal or informal. And what references are included that can support all of the points the writer makes.  I think knowing these modes of writing will help me improve when I want to target. a specific reader and want to keep them entertained while they are also able to dive into more information to gain more knowledge about a topic. The books helped me a lot to understand why writing is not something that can be done in one day, it takes time to revise and correct any errors.