Bridget, W.

I’m almost done my first semester of university. In such a short period of time, I have learned so much about myself. The beginning of this semester I was terrified. All through high school I had gotten high 70s and 80s, aside from math which was much lower. School has never come easy to me and it’s not something I would ever say I enjoyed. School to me is nothing but a stepping stone to the future I want to have. Choosing to go to Wayne State instead of the University of Windsor was hard for me. Figuring university out is hard, but to do it alone in a different country is a whole new level of terrifying. What came with that fear though, was independence. I realized I didn’t need to depend on friends to learn from, I was capable of doing things on my own. I stopped wishing I was with them in Windsor and started to embrace this new independence I had when I was at school. I learned how to study, how to learn. I stopped caring about what other people thought of me.

Learning how to effectively study was big for me. I have always been someone who needed to study in order to pass tests. I could never wing anything. When I was in grade 12, I sustained a severe concussion, and missed half of my final year of high school and had to return for an extra year in order to graduate. It took me over a year to recover completely, and during that time, I struggled with studying and retaining information. Plus, the migraines and neck issues I have still get in the way at times. However, I can now say I feel like I am recovered. I retaught myself how to learn, this class gave me tips that have helped me more than I can express. It’s frustrating when you injure your brain because it works differently after. After last year my average was lower than usual and I was feeling defeated. I was terrified of university because I needed high 80s or 90s to be competitive in my program and I couldn’t remember the last class I had gotten a 90 in, but I did it, or am doing it and I don’t think anyone is as surprised as I am by this.

I have overcome a lot of things in the last year and after this semester I have faith in myself. I’m not as scared anymore, I am determined. I know I can do whatever I set my mind to. I am a better student than I have ever been in my life. I know with time I will be able to improve on certain skills but I am very happy with the improvements I’ve seen in this short period of time.