A Look at College Classes

So I can’t believe that a little over two weeks has passed as I have experienced life at ECU. So far, I am loving it so much! :) So I am sure that one of the most intimidating parts of college for prospective students are the classes. High school teachers scare you into thinking that you are going to college and taking classes that are so difficult that it seems impossible to do well unless you give up your life. I for one, can definitely say I disagree. There are many differences in college classes than those from high school. For one the class sizes are extremly different. I have a Biology class that has 251 students in it. Now for me, this is extremly different because my graduating class was not even this large! Haha! On the other hand, I have a History class with only three individuals. I guess dependant on certain subjects, different classes will have different amounts of people. I have also seen that attendance is not always required in college. This makes it difficult on a student because sometimes it is easy to be tempted to want to skip class, but you have to realize that in doing this, you will only be hurting yourself. I do believe that one of the biggest differences in college is the homework policy. Teachers do not actually always give you homework. Some teachers give you homework to complete for the next class or ask you to read over some materials, but most of your studying is independent. You as the student, must make the decision to read and study materials on your own. Even though I have not gone through a full semester, I can tell that the only way to excel in a class is by doing a lot of independent practice outside of class. I will admit that it is difficult to sit yourself down to actually study. College makes it difficult to concentrate. There is so much to do and so many people to hang out with. It really takes a lot of self- motivation to make yourself work. If you come into college with a positive attitude and set goals for yourself, you will definitly do fine!

Well that’s all for now! I guess I will update you all later! Byes!! :)

Experiencing the Big One Eight at ECU! :)

Week One.

I can't believe it is actually over. It has been such an amazing time here at ECU. Although I have only been here for a little over 9 days, I feel confident that ECU is my new home and that my stay here is going to be a positive one. College life seems so much different than what I expected. I always knew I was going to have a tremendous amount of independence when I came here, but never did I think I would have this much. I feel like I have so much time on my hands and I am being forced to make the decision to decide how I wish to spend my time. I think the one thing that I have learned most this first week is that a person needs to set their priorities straight before they come to college. I can see that it is easy to feel the urge to stay up late and watch movies with friends, but you definitely regret it the next day. I feel that I have been lucky because I have learned a lot in this first week, enough to the point where it is not too late to be sure I'm making the right decisions. As far as friends are concerned, I feel that I have made so many friends. I feel so honored to be apart of the Umstead dorm room. Everyone is so kind and polite and we all get along. Nobody cares if your honors, teaching fellows, or even a maynard scholar, we just care that we can get along and have fun together. I have met so many people that I truly believe will turn into great friends for the next four years. I have gone out shopping with people, gone to dinner, and even stayed up until 3 AM one morning doing laundry with some of these people! :) I am so thrilled to know that I am able to surround myself with positive people who I know will only enrich my experience here at ECU!

Finally, I had the privelage to spend my 18th birthday here at ECU. I celebrated this day on August 20th, the first day of classes for students here at ECU. Before I left home, I was so disappointed that I would be spending my birthday away from home. I felt like I was being forced to bring in my adulthood on my own and I hated that idea. Now as I look back, I can see that I was completly wrong. I have so many people to thank for making my birthday so great! From Steven and Zach singing a harmonized version of happy birthday to Monica and Jordan making me a special sign with a beautiful quote, I had such an amazing birthday. It seemed liked everyone remembered this day and everyone was making me adorable signs and just showing me so much love. I'll never forget when 12 AM hit, Stanford went yelling down the halls announcing the arrival of my adulthood. :) As I think about all the love that I received that day, I can't help but smile. Events like this show you how great college life can be. Even though you are going through new things and rough times, your not the only one! Everybody is experiencing just what you are. I think this setting with your new "family" really helps the transition from home to college life.

ECU is such a wonderful place. I can tell that I am going to grow tremendously in the next four years. I am excited to see where the road takes me. For now, I am ready to live up freshman year as a pirate and just grow in every way possible!

Well, see you later! Any questions? Feel free to ask! :)
Byess!!