I’ve learned a lot this year in general. For one, college is WAY different than high school, and (in my opinion), a lot better. CCBC has given me a window of opportunities to better prepare for my future, and further plan for my future. I’ve experienced new professors, new classmates, and new teaching styles, and I can’t complain about any of it. This was a great year!
Second, college is not all fairies and rainbows. College is hard at times, and half the time, I’ll admit, I didn’t feel like putting in effort to try, or rolling out of bed to drive to campus at all. Setting goals for myself really helped though, and gave me a purpose to what I was doing, and helped me realize why I was doing it.
Third, balancing work and college is anything but easy at times. I was enrolled as a full-time student here at CCBC both for this spring semester, and the 2014 fall semester. In January, I was promoted to assistant manager, bumping up the hours I got each week at work. There were days that I would work 40+ hours a week (to some may not be a lot, but for someone new to it, it was for me), and trying to balance my 4 classes on top of that. It wasn’t easy, and I learned in those situations, you have to write notes, set scheduled times, and remain organized, or you probably won’t get something done that’s important.
Overall, the challenges I endured, the people I met, and the classes I took all encouraged me as a student. If you’re a freshman like me, we did it—one year under our belts, and probably at least one more to go. This year gave me hope though. If I can put my mind to it, I can dream it, and I can live it. Best of luck to everyone during finals week, and best of luck to those graduating or transferring colleges after this year—keep working toward your goals and dreams, you’ve got another year of schooling down!
– Austin, student blogger
