Blog 8
Throughout the year when we have been reading “Freshman Year” by Sarah Mai, it has really helped me to look back at my own first semester of college here at Longwood. I also have looked forward to how my future spring semester might go. Throughout the book as Sarah had her experiences of moving away from her home, managing the college life, and making new friends felt very relatable to my fall semester here at Longwood. Although I am not finished with my first semester, I connect with a lot of Sarah’s experiences in the book. Like Sarah, I have had many moments where I feel unsure about managing my work in school and my social life. Sometimes the school work becomes a lot but I know it is important because you are working towards a degree. Her experiences in the book helps to reflect that it is normal to feel that way. It also helps to show that it will take time to learn to balance everything.
Along with that, I think that a lot of my personal experiences reflect Sarah’s experiences. A good example in the book would be when she continued to struggle with balancing her classes and the homework within them, along with her social life outside of school. This is definitely something I have noticed in my first semester so far. I have also had to figure out how to prioritize certain assignments over others and to know it is okay to take a small break in between. Sarah has also talked and met new people which connects with me because I have met many new friends here during my first semester which is exciting.
Even though there are a lot of similarities between Sarah and I, there are also a lot of differences. In the book, Sarah talks about her feelings of being unsure and having anxiety. A lot of which I do not feel as strongly as her. I understand the struggles having almost been through a semester of college but I do not feel the same level of uncertainty as she does in the book. I currently do not have any plans for Spring Break but I would love to take a trip with my hometown friends somewhere. It was very fun before college when we went to Beach Week so I am sure it would be enjoyable to have another trip.
I am going to be honest when I say Spring Break will most definitely be on my mind from the start of the semester. I love Longwood but it is always fun to go back home and see my friends. Although, maybe this will change with time when I learn to be more adapted to college life. I also need to make sure I stay on top of my work as well. Reading Sarah’s stories in the book reminds me that it is important to plan ahead and learn a good school and social balance. Looking forward, I hope that my spring semester goes well and I meet so many more great people.
Dear wrtier,
I completely understand how you feel about balancing your time between school and your social life. Being a cheerleader is fun, and I love it, but it’s also draining because I’m constantly on the go, and I don’t really get to have much downtime or socialize with my friends. I also have a hard time completing all my schoolwork before I go to practice or a game. If you have a hard time doing your homework on top of your classes, I would suggest using a calendar and planning out your whole week so that you can see what your week looks like. You can plan a time when you have your classes and when you have to do school work, and then when you know you have your social time to do anything you want to. I am glad that you have met some great friends. I know it’s hard to make new friends when you are an incoming freshman. For me, it was a little different becuse I had to be here a month earlier than all the freshmen due to cheer, so I had already made friends with the freshman class on the team. I can wait for spring break, but Thanksgiving break is also just two weeks away, so it will feel good to have a break since I didn’t get to go home for fall break due to cheer. I get Christmas break, but I do have to come back early for games. Spring break I get to have but I have to stay 2 days later then everyone else but at least I get a spring break. I am glad that you are thriving at Longwood and making new friends, as well as learning how to balance school, your social life, and knowing when you need a break.
Dear writer,
I also found that the book had me looking back over how the beginning of my semester went and there were more similarities between me and Sarah than I thought there would be. I am also thinking about what the spring semester has in store for me. I have had a lot of moments where I’m not sure how to schedule my time between school and just having fun. I found it best to look about 2 weeks ahead and make a note about how much work you have for each week. I designate my time by how much time I have to complete each assignment, and I might spend a whole day just to do assignments. Going home for break is definitely something a lot of us are gonna be looking forward to.