College: The Final Frontier

Now we are in college, and all this independence is incredibly overwhelming. We have to take the right classes and get involved in student life starting in our first semester. Every decision we make from now on can  make us or break us. That thought is beyond frightening.

Time management has to become our religion or we will turn into a tired wreck.

College is supposed to be the time when we have to find out what we will most likely do, for the rest of our lives. But if you don’t know what you are going to wear to class tomorrow, you are not the only one.

On my first day at Miami Dade College, my SLS 1505 professor asked us to introduce ourselves and share what our major was. I was terrified. Introducing myself on the first day of class has never been pleasant, but this time it was even more terrifying than usual because he asked me what path I wanted to follow with my mass communications major. I panicked. I have always leaned toward the communications field but never actually made any concrete decision about my future.

Now, while I’m in my car and I turn the engine on, the music starts to play and my train of thought leads me to changing my major, applying for an internship, looking for scholarships, and trying to schedule a Saturday morning to complete all of these tasks.

These past few  weeks have been the most overwhelming of my entire life.

I get home from work at 11:30 p.m. every day and wake up at 6 a.m. to attend class the next day. Although I have been working since I was in junior high school, the only difference is that all the fine arts and virtual classes in high school did not affect my sleeping schedule. In college, professors assign me 30 questions of math homework, 40 pages of chapter readings, and a ten-page symphony concert analysis which includes attending the concert.

In addition, I get lost at West Campus a minimum of three days per week. It took me twenty minutes to find the Wolfson Campus parking lot  and twenty more to reach the sixth floor, where I finally found a parking spot. I’m also confused about the proper way to address my professors. And of course I’ll never forget the librarian that chased me around the library so I could sign into the computer before using it while I had my earbuds in blasting music.  

However, as every other obsessive compulsive person out there, I crave the stress I have in my life. I make the effort of waking up early every day hopelessly wishing that I will get to scratch every item in my planner off by sunset, and that it will pay off little by little.

As for now, I have already joined student government association at West Campus and the College’s student newspaper, The Reporter. Although, it is clear I don’t have much figured out, the only heart-felt advice I can give a fellow freshmen is to go the extra mile and  join a club or organization. You will really enjoy it. And it will benefit you in the future.