Extra Credit Post

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

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.



 

Blog 10

Engl 165-09 Fall ’25

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Over the course of the semester I feel like I have become a better writer. I have learned many different aspects of writing that have helped me not only in this class but in my other classes as well. I remember in the beginning of the semester when I first started by trying to figure out what an annotated bibliography was and how to write one and now, I have written well over ten essays and many more papers in general with relatively no stress. Over the semester my confidence in my writing has grown way more than I ever thought it would. I remember when I would hear that there was a one thousand word essay due and I would start panicking about everything. After learning ways to write properly and manage my time when writing I have realized that I can easily write five hundred words in one day as long as I have the information.

If there is one thing that I have figured out while being in college, it’s that essays are unavoidable. I even had to write an essay for my math class which I never thought I would have to do. In my next three years of college, I plan to use what I have learned from this class in every essay that I have. Most of my essays will probably be within the same discipline so that should make it easier to learn and get better. Research papers are going to be the main focus for me, and it will be necessary to learn how to write them well for my intended career. With everything that I have learned from this class and everything I will learn in the classes to come I believe I’ll be able to write confidently in all of my upcoming classes.