The New Me

I did not change much in coming to college, but I did change as far as who my friends are. In high school, I was friends with people from my classes and from marching band. Here, I am not really friends with anyone from the marching band, which I why I do not think I will be doing it next year. Also, I am not really friends with the people in my classes since college classes aren't like high school. You aren't trapped in the classroom till the bell rings. If there is free time at the end of class, the teacher just dismisses you, instead of keeping you there. Because of that, I haven't had much time to social with people in class. I am only friends with the people who I know from clubs, activities, or my dorm. Also, I went to a pretty small high school. When you made a group of friends, you were kind of stuck with them. By the end of high school, I was pretty much sick of a lot of my friends. They were just kind of boring to me because we didn't have the same interests. Here, I got to pick my friends, and now I have lots in common with them. That's not to say we're all the same, but at least we have something to talk about. I think this is a positive change.

Another change is that I am eating a lot more healthy foods. Back home, we had lots of snack foods because of my brother. However, they were still hard for me to resist. Living away from home is nice because I get to pick what food I keep in my dorm. That way I don't have to constantly be resisting the temptation of snacking. Also, when I go to the union, I have lots of options of healthy and unhealthy food. I only have to make the choice of which meal I am going to eat one time a day, rather than every time I walk through the kitchen. I would definitely say this is a positive change.

The last change I have noticed is that I feel happier.I am no longer stuck in school all day. Instead, I have a schedule that I picked for myself, and I am only taking relevant classes. Instead of wasting my time in a study hall or in an unrelated history class, I am taking education courses that really interest me. I love that I am actually starting to do something for my future. Before, everything I did was for my college applications. Now, I am learning how to be a highly qualified teacher, which is my passion. Having a more relevant life, rather than wasting my time with unnecessary courses, is making me a much happier person.

My Friends

When I came to BW, I only knew one student here because she went to high school with me. We were never very close, but since coming to BW we have become close friends. Most of the people I hang out with live in my dorm. We can usually be found in North's lounge doing homework, watching tv, listening to music, and just talking. I also made lots of friends through the activities that I am a part of. The last way that I made friends was through my calc class. It is very challenging and we work together on homework  each week. Doing three house of homework together three times a week has made us very close. My group of friends has definitely changed of the semester. Originally I was friends with people from marching band since they were the first people I met when I moved in early for band camp. Now, I don't see many of them more than once a week, if at all. Also, it took a while for my math class and dorm friends to become close, but now we have lots of fun together. I do not think it was harder or easier to make friends than I thought. I knew that I would find people I liked and wasn't too worried about making friends. I was new in 7th grade when I moved to Ohio, so I knew I would be fine in college, where everyone is new.

My Student Organization

One of the organizations that I am a part of is Teaching Together. It is basically an academic club for Education students to help them get to know each other, receive information about their major, and perform services for the community that will look good on their resumes. We have had two meetings and an ice cream social so far. The meetings were on August 29th and September 26th at 5pm in Malicky room 10. The ice cream social was on Thursday, September 13th at 5pm in Malicky room 10. At the meetings we received information about t-shirt ideas for the club, service opportunities in the Berea community and inner city Cleveland, and general information about the purpose of the club. The ice cream social was a time for us to get to know each other better and enjoy some ice cream in a more relaxed setting. I believe the organization is a great way for me to get involved, build my resume, and gain classroom experience.The leaders are all very welcoming, informative, and approachable. It is nice to know upperclassmen who I can approach with questions. It seems to be a very productive club because the leaders are efficient, there are at least forty members (rough estimation), and it has practical uses as well. Because the meetings were so well-run, I know this is a club I have to be a part of, otherwise I would really be missing out.

My Finances

Going to college definitely affected how I thought about money. Before, I didn't have many things I had to spend money on, besides gas. Other than that, my parents provided for me. Most of the time when I spent money, it was on unnecessary items like clothing, shoes, food, froyo, toys, and gifts; therefore, I was pretty frugal with my money since I knew I didn't need anything. Now that I am in college I have to spend money all the time. First of all, just by being here at BW I am racking up a big debt. I am paying for my room and board, unlike when I lived at home with my parents. Also, I have to buy most of my food, instead of just going to my kitchen fridge. However, I still try to keep a budget. I try not to buy more food than necessary, and I hardly ever order pizza or get dessert. Also, I have set a goal of how much money I would like to have on my Jacket at the end of the semester. The other difficulty about money in college is the Jacket. Before, I never used a credit or debit card that much. I always paid with cash. Handing over the bills helped me visualize whether the item I was buying was truly worth the cost. Here, I just swipe my plastic card. Sometimes it feels like monopoly money. Up until about last week I had very good spending habits. In a moment of weakness I bought more food than necessary because I was going to "save it for later" but never got around to finishing it. I have done this a few times now. If I can stop doing so and keep to my good spending habits, then I will be in good shape to reach my goal.

My Goals

I have many goals for myself while I am here at BW, but here are three of my top goals.

1) Try at least 3 new things each semester. I like this goal because it will constantly be pushing me out of my comfort zone, forcing me to grow in my personality, and find new likes/dislikes for the rest of my life. This semester I am taking a ki kong class for physical education, joining many group activities and clubs, and just being a college student!

2) Take at least 16 credits per semester. I have a lot a want to accomplish while I am at BW, so I need to keep a challenging pace. I can accomplish this goal by signing up for 18 credits if I think I might end up dropping a class. Also, I need to be attentive at the beginning of each semester to the add-drop time period.

3) Attend at least one spiritual event each week. My spirituality is very important to me. To achieve this goal I plan to attend church, Cru, and Bible study each week. If I end up getting to busy to attend one of them, it is ok because I have two other back ups.

Ten Things You Should Know About Me!

1) I have traveled to Spain and Guatemala. I love speaking Spanish with native Spanish-speakers.

2) I've been doing some form of martial arts since I was 7. I've done tae kwon do, karate, tai chi, ki kong, and haidong gumdo.

3) I have never had a pet besides fish. I would like to have a dog very much though.

4) I have played or tried out almost every sport.

5) I am a nerd when it comes to school work. I always complete my assignments on time and well.

6) I want to be a high school math teacher.

7) I lived in New Jersey for eight years.

8) My favorite show is NCIS. I watch it every Tuesday at 8pm.

9) I am trying to read the entire Bible in two years.

10) So far I absolutely love BW. I like the people here, the campus, the activities, and the personality of the school.