My name’s Kacie. I’m 18 years old and I currently live in Staten Island with my grandparents. I went to high school at Manalapan High School in Manalapan, NJ, where our biggest claim to fame is being where Mike the Situation went to high school (what a great reputation, huh?). Middle school was where I made most of my friends, but we became really close throughout high school. Most of my best friends are all at least an hour away and I miss them tons. Fortunately, moving to Staten Island had brought me physically closer to my cousins who are more like my best friends than cousins. I get to see them a lot more often than I would during the school year, which is great because I love spending time with my family. I also love photography. After sophomore year, I hope to transfer to Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, MA. I visited Boston a few years ago and fell in love with the city and can’t wait to go back. I also love traveling. I recently took a trip to San Francisco and Hawaii as a graduation present, and it was the best trip I’ve ever been on. Now, every few Fridays my grandparents and I take a short trip to a place we’ve never been before, which is my favorite tradition.
My first concern about my freshman year is managing my time. I tend to procrastinate a lot, so managing my time seemed to be a hard obstacle to overcome. So far I’ve been responsible with how and when I get my work done.
My second concern is the commute. Unlike my friends, who are living on campus and walk 5 minutes to get to class, I have to walk 5 minutes to a bus to begin my hour and a half to two hour commute. Coming from New Jersey and traveling less than 5 minutes to get to school, the long commute is a huge difference, but it gets easier as the school year progresses.
My third and final concern was the work load. I was expected a lot more work than I’ve gotten so far, which has made the transition into college a whole lot easier.
How Baruch differs from high school so far is most obviously the independence I have. Instead of having set times for lunch and being provided with everything I needed for school, I’m responsible for getting my own books, finding my way to school, and finding something to eat for lunch (that I can afford.) I also can’t rely on my parents for that much considering they’re about an hour away. Another difference is the work. The work load is a lot lighter, especially since I have fewer classes. Although there is less work, more responsibility is put on me to get the work done and turned in.
I think my first year at college will make me even more independent, which is important. I also think I’ll learn how to work efficiently to get things done on time. Finally, I think that I will mature a lot within the next four years.
