Taylar R.

All throughout high school, I thought I knew it all. How to learn, who I am, where I study best. I was wrong. Walking into first year seminar, I was doubtful and had no idea what knowledge I would obtain. Studying to me during high school was simply reading over notes that were previously taken and reading an assigned passage out of the textbooks. When my first exams started to roll around, I learned these lower level study skills were not going to cut it. We learned different ways to study by rewriting our notes, re-watching lectures, and seeking out help. Tutoring was the one skill that really stuck out to me and what helped me learn things from a new perspective. I also reevaluated how long and the environment in which I studied. This meant turning my cell phone off, but allowing myself short breaks to ensure I did not overwhelm myself. While doing this, I soon realized that I must be in almost complete silence to fully focus and study the best I can.

Other than academic wise, I learned a lot about myself in this first semester. One of my biggest flaws is being extremely hard on myself, sometimes even on things that I cannot control. If something does not go how I expected after working so hard, I get so worked up and shut down. This is one of my biggest flaws as a person that I struggle with constantly. It could be because I am not going too well on an assignment or exam or even if I do not grasp a concept easily, I get upset. I tend to bring myself down thinking this will encourage me to do better next time, but it never does. If anything, I do worse and end up stressing myself out even more. I am learning, slowly but surely to just calm down. I need to slow down when I start to get frustrated and take things one step at a time in order to calm down and begin to think rationally. Overall, this year I have learned a lot about myself both as a student and as a person that I will continue to use as I grow as an individual and to the person that I have always wanted to be.