Jaylen M.

Transitioning to my first year of college was much like transitioning to my first year of high school. It’s a different environment, different rules, and more freedom. With all these changes there is a lot of adjusting to do. Looking back on my high school days, I wish I would have done my homework more, back when the tests were a lot easier. Now that I am in college, I do my homework and now I’m struggling with the tests. In high school, I didn’t study at all and still passed, but in college there is no chance of passing without some sort of studying. My very first exam, which was in Math 1050. Note that I love math and had no problems at all with math in high school and maintained an A in the class my entire high school career. On my first exam I got a 70% and only because my professor curved it, 70% from 90% is a big difference in a negative way.

Scoring that low on my exam was a reality check that revealed to me that this is a different level of work, and that I had to go harder and change my game plan a bit. I knew I needed to study but I didn’t know exactly why nothing was working for me. So, I thought about what type of person I am; I’m very social, I like working with people. I decided to form a group chat with other students in the class so that we could study together and help each other out when needed and it was a big success for me and very beneficial I got a 90% on the very next exam. Studying wasn’t the only obstacle I faced this school year. There are so many distractions. Getting back to what I stated earlier, college introduced more freedom along with so much time on my own. In today’s world, we are exposed to so many distractions especially being college students. Whether it’s some event, friends, or electronics, it is so easy to lose focus. In my mind, it is imperative that every student can do away with distractions and is able to have clear focus in their daily life. A useful tip that I have applied personally and can vouch that is beneficial is making a schedule. It keeps you organized and helps you prioritize. I set reminders on my Desktop as well. For example, if I was listening to music, an alarm would stop my music and ring reminding it’s time shift gears and get back to work.