Coming into Baruch on orientation day, I figured I would enjoy college about as much as I did high school—which is to say a vague appreciation of the institution as a whole, with less-than-enjoyable day-to-day operations. After a semester at Baruch, I would say that it has surpassed my expectations, but not by much. I love the freedom; that my free time does not revolve around school, but rather, classes. As lame as it is, I love the library and its many resources. My Philosophy teacher remarked today that she would feel less responsible if we had not turned in our papers or done our reading than she would have had she been teaching high school, and I love that I am in control of how well I do, and that in the end, it doesn’t affect anyone but myself.
I don’t love spending hours at a time waiting for my next class, but I don’t hate it either. I don’t love having so much time to myself. I hate spending money in the city. I like that my classes are straightforward, but I don’t like that I lose steam and begin to slack off halfway through. But overall, I did better than I expected to. At last, I broke the curse of losing motivation during the fall semester that seemed to haunt all four years of my high school experience. If I could go back, though, I would build up more resolve to do more than just get by in my classes. I would have involved myself in more activities, but there isn’t much I feel like I can’t capitalize on during the spring semester.
I think I changed a lot for the better since I started Baruch, but I compromised who I was a lot more than I wish I did. I focused a lot more on doing well and improving my behavior, but I kept quiet when I should have spoken up for the things I believed in; I wish I’d made a bigger impact on the people I’m surrounded by. I look forward to taking on more responsibility in the coming years, and excelling in whatever I invest myself into.
