This school year has been a rollercoaster. ​We started off strong in August with in person classes and wearing masks, and then by January we started the semester with online classes, by March, all COVID protocols were pretty much lifted and after being in college for two years, I could finally see what the student sitting next to me looked like. 

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I started off the fall semester living in USquare with three random roommates, we got along and had some similarities, but I was super excited to meet two girls that I had only talked to via social media. I met these two girls in my classes from 2020 but due to COVID, we were never able to meet in person until August. I was so excited to finally have some college friends to hangout with. Fall semester was also a big adjustment because I had my first in person class experience in over eighteen months. It took time to get used to waking up and leaving my apartment for a class instead of doing everything online. Football, volleyball and basketball games were happening and I went to many of those with friends and also spent a little time going back home to see my family. 

 

Spring semester was a bigger change for me. I took nineteen credit hours which was difficult especially with most of those classes being in person, I had to learn how to balance my classes and still allow for work, homework, and relaxation time. I took an honors course on wrongful convictions which made me even more excited to jump into the legal field in a few years. I tried to branch out and make more friends by going to events at Hillel and events planned by CECH, which also allowed me to break out of my comfort zone and do things alone. I never have been the type of person who needs to always be with someone, but with all the hardships I faced so far in college, I needed a little motivation. 

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I would say that these experiences have greatly impacted my academic goals. I have learned how to adapt on a day by day basis. Sometimes my classes would have to be moved online due to my professor being sick, and I needed to be able to do a smooth transition to ensure I was getting all my work done. This will help me in my future college and professional situations because things can change in a given instance and I need to adapt smoothly.This year I also found out that I can (and will) be graduating a full year early! There has been so many classes and events that I wanted to do during college and now that I have less time, I have a few goals I need to try and achieve within the next year such as doing a study tour through the Honors Program or even just traveling myself. I continue to have the goal of finishing college with Dean's List for every semester as well as forming connections with various faculty members and students. 

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