Whoa. Well, kinda. While I always have the feeling "I've learned something" by the end of each semester (in college as well as high school), it's a different kind of "whoa". So much has changed from almost 4 months ago (August 14, anyone?): new "home", different relationship with parents, new friends, the decision of how much effort to devote to keeping old friends, new classes, new city. It's been great, though everyone hit a really bad rut right before thanksgiving break. I'm not sure how we'll handle the transitions to and from winter break. Still, it's an overall good "whoa".
On Friday, I went to talk to Erin to brainstorm for the final paper. As I was leaving with friends, we were discussing how different the expectations are in college. We would suggest basic topics like water wars, globalization, the treatment of women in the middle east, and Erin would put a theoretical spin on it. It was interesting, and my brain didn't hurt TOO much after trying to understand the example theses (pl of thesis?) she gave us. My friends and I agreed that we weren't in high school anymore. No one in high school would ever dream about having an essay THAT specific.
I can also understand snippets of conversations between Chinese people on the shuttle. Mind. Blown.
Haha. I agree. A lot has changed since welcome week. It's amazing how much we're learned and adapted and simply grown in general. It amazes me how normal life is now. How settled we've become! But I couldn't help but wonder today how much of how we settled was based on how the media has influenced us, like in movies and television shows how kids graduate from high school, have a magical summer and then start college. Although each experience is different, there are similarities that provide us with some commonality that allows us to bond with one another. I remember when I moved in I thought that it was just like in the movies, but now that we've been here for an entire semester, I've gotten into a routine that makes college feel like home, as you said. I, too, am amazed of how much closer we are to adults after just four months in college!
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that this experience has been a different one than high school. Elements such as a new city, new people, and a more specific course curriculum has given us the opportunity to grow further and become independent. Its amazing how much information we have been able to process and discuss in class. I think a big factor has to with the fact that our courses force us to read (well.. not really, but if not you'd get lost in class) and most of us have started to read newspapers or other news sources more frequently. The world is make more sense to us. The best part of it all was having two days out of the week to discuss it with other people. They all shared similar interest and were in our age range. On top of that, we had skillful professor help us guide through our thoughts and not his. If we have been able to accomplish this in one semester, can you imagine four years? It makes sense now why people say that these are going to be the best years of our life.
ReplyDelete