Who will you be in four years: 1st Blog post.
Dear future self,
You are now a freshman at the university of Longwood. You are currently majoring in business with a concentration in management, you are also studying criminal justice. I have hopes to be a Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Program Manager/Administrative Support Supervisor. Although I worry about the transition in schoolwork from high school to college, I am very exciting to begin this new chapter in my life. I am so lucky to have already found some of my favorite people that I will have for the rest of college and friendships that will last a lifetime. It has been very hard leaving my best friend from home and my family, but I am adjusting very well and hope to continue to. I look forward to meeting many more people. Am I still enjoying college and adjusting well to the new environment?
The one thing I am most worried about while adjusting to college is the amount of work I will have. Balancing academic, social and personal life I feel will be the hardest part. I have always been told 2 different perspectives on college. One of which being it is so hard; all I have time for is schoolwork and it is so much different than high school. The other being it is not as bad as it seems, I have so much time to do the things I want, and I have more of a social life than an academic one. By the end of the 4 years which perspective did I have on college? I am confident that I will find a healthy balance and will make the most out of any situation. I am curious to know if I am still just as passionate about my career or if I have changed my mind.
I hope to have improved on prioritizing myself and focusing on the things that are truly important. I hope I find time to do the things I truly enjoy and that will allow me to reach my life’s goals.
Lastly, I hope to be the happiest and most successful I can be by the end of the next 4 years at longwood.
Hello Makynna, My name is Brooks. In your blog post you have stated some of the Hardships you think you will face going into college. I want to tell you that you’re not alone. I and many others will have to make many adjustments to fit in and thrive at college. I hope to show you it isn’t as bad as it seems.
You bring up the fact you might have a hard time balancing work and social activities due to the extra work that college has compared to high school. College is a heavier workload but you also have more free time so if you plan around it effectively and make sure to get your work done you should have plenty of time for social activities with friends.
One thing we are both struggling with is having to leave our families and friends. Growing up I always have had a really strong connection to my family so leaving them was the hardest part of my transition to college, but it’s not like you will never see them again there are plenty of breaks you will be able to spend time at home. If you live close enough you might be able to take a trip home for the weekend now and again, this weekend I went home to see my parents. If you do live too far away to warrant a weekend trip you can always call your parents or even facetime them. Going into college I expected to lose the very strong connection I had with my parents but basically on day oneI realized that I’m still able to keep our very close connection with them. I hope you are able to stay in touch with your parents too!
You also wonder if you will stay with your choice of career or change it out for another.I think that as you take new classes you find new interests so I wonder too if I will switch majors or stay with computer science.
I’m sure you will enjoy your time at longwood.
Hi Makynna!
My name is Molly, and I am a Nursing major. Although we do not share the same major, I can definitely relate to some of your feelings since beginning our first year here. I have also been really worried about my workload and whether or not I will be able to balance it. It is something that I want to keep a priority in my life and am stressed on what it will take out of me to do so. It definitely will not be easy all of the time, but I truly believe eventually we will all be able to find a balance that works best for us within the next few months. I am so glad to hear that you have already found people here and are adjusting to missing hometown friends and family quite well. I think that has definitely been the hardest part for me and probably will continue to be. Similar to most people, my family and friends hold the most space in my heart and being away from them can be so difficult. However, being able to connect with new people here has also been a true blessing and I’m so happy to hear that you have been able to experience that too!
I am very intrigued in your major and your future career goal. Seeing that it is a really specific career, I am curious to know what drove you to choose it. Furthermore, it is a career that comes with a lot of extremely difficult tasks/cases and sounds really daunting. That being said, it takes an incredible kind of person to do the job. Regardless of what drove you to choose it, I personally think it is truly inspiring that you chose the career path you did. I wish you the best of luck in all of your academics within the next four years and with your career from then onward. I hope that you find the best way to balance your life while also prioritizing yourself and what is important to you. I wish all the happiness and success in the world for you here at Longwood!
Kindest Regards,
Molly Layne
Dear Makynna,
I’m Shelby and I am also studying business however my concentration is in marketing. Im not a freshman but it is my first year here, so I understand the stresses of schoolwork but also how exciting new things can be. All of your studies combined seem like a very niche area of learning. It is great that you know exactly what you want to do and have a good idea of how to achieve it. Right now it may seem overwhelming and stressful to be balancing all the things you feel like you need to be doing. What I will say having been through at least one year of school already is that when people tell you they are amazing years, they really are. They also fly by so get as much out of them while you can. It’s great that you’ve found people that you love being around. It is always amazing to surround yourself with people who want similar things so you can motivate each other to achieve them. I think it’s really interesting that you are wondering if you are still going to be just as passionate about your potential career after four years as you are right now. It will be ok ig you aren’t, that is just more exciting new stuff to try and see how you feel about it. I also think it’s great that you want to make sure you prioritize yourself more. The better you feel the better your work and school output will be and the more you will get out of your time here at Longwood. When you say that you “hope to find time to do the things that [you] truly enjoy”, that can be even small things. Going places with your new found friends or making time to have nice phone call with old friends and family from home. It could be anything as long as it makes you feel good and keeps you in high spirits. I personally call my parents and sister all the time. If I’m having a hard time with an assignment that my sister may know more about I call her for some good advice. From what it looks like from reading your post you are on the way to do some great things in the next four years. I hope they are exactly how you imagine them to be.
Sincerely, Shelby