Freshman Year

My first year of college is just about wrapped up. I can honestly say that it was not at all what I expected, but I think that’s a good thing. I am the first of my siblings to go to college so I went in not really knowing what to expect. All I really knew was what friends and family told me, but they definitely made it seem like something else. First semester really overwhelmed me at first. It seemed like I was trying to balance so much all at once, and I wasn’t sure I could handle it. I even started to question whether Lewis was the right decision. However, I soon figured it out and got it together.

Although it wasn’t what I expected, I feel good about my freshman year. I was definitely challenged academically, and I now know how much I can handle and what works best for me when it comes to school and studying. Besides academics, I also changed a lot personally throughout the year, but it was definitely for the better. I’m leaving my freshman year feeling confident that Lewis was the right school choice and excited for the rest of my years here.

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College Writing 2

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This post is basically going to be a short summary of my ePortfolio, but I wanted to share my experience in this class. To start, I want to say that College Writing 2 really did challenge me. I was being assigned assignments that were nothing like papers or essays I had written before, and I wasn't so sure I was going to be able to have any success with them. It was a little bit daunting at first because I didn't think I would be able to keep up.

However, I did keep up, and I was successful in the class. Of course, this is thanks to the help of my peers and Dr. Kyburz. College Writing 2 pushed me to become a better writer and helped me develop skills that will be helpful in many of the future courses I'll be taking here at Lewis. It's a class that I really did enjoy, and I feel more prepared after having taken it.

Where am I as a writer?

Summer

The semester is ending, and summer is almost here. Although it isn't my favorite season, I can't wait to have some time off from what seems to be endless schoolwork. I'm looking forward to spending time with family and catching up with the friends that are coming home from college. I especially can't wait to finally be able to go to the beach, whether that be here or on vacation.

Most importantly, I'm happy that I will finally have much needed time to myself so I can figure out a few things. Although I'm happy with where I'm at right now, there is still a lot I've been avoiding and need to get sorted out. Summer is always a time to regroup and refocus for me. Without the responsibilities of school, I have more time to focus on the other important parts of my life that I might've neglected during the busy school year. It's something that is really needed.

I have a feeling that this summer is going to be a good one (or at least I hope it is).

A sunrise from my family's trip last summer.

FIFA World Cup 2018

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The World Cup is this summer, and my family could not be more excited. My cousins play soccer, my siblings play soccer, and even I played soccer for a few years. Those in my family who don’t play  soccer still closely follow it. I have to admit that I don’t follow it too closely, but my brother definitely does. So, this summer is such a big deal that we are even planning our family vacation around the World Cup because he does not want to miss a second of it.

It may seem like a lot to some people, but I absolutely love the intense love that my family has for soccer, especially when it comes to the World Cup. I am looking forward to spending the summer visiting all my family members so we can all watch the games. It’s the best feeling to see everyone get excited about a team winning and to just be able to feel the passion they have for soccer. I’m always happy to spend time with my loved ones, and the World Cup will ensure that there will be a lot of family time this summer.

Where am I?

I was inspired by the multimodal we had to do for class, so I decided to do another one based on where I am with myself and with my life now that it's the end of my freshman year.

Complaining

There are about two weeks left in the semester, and stress levels are at their highest for most students. I've found myself seeming to have less time than ever and little motivation to do anything, which just adds to the stress I'm feeling. The end of the semester always brings countless of things that need to be done with little motivation to get these things done. I often find myself complaining about everything I need to do instead of actually working on those things.

When this is the case, which is often, I try and remind myself of a quote I saw on Instagram a couple of months ago. "Encourage instead of complain." It really is that simple. Instead of focusing on all of the things I need to do but don't necessarily want to do, I should be encouraging myself to get these things done and out of the way. Complaining isn't getting me anywhere. It's actually just leaving me with less and less time to do the things I need to do. So, here's to complaining a little less and trying to encourage myself to put my all into these last two weeks of the semester.