Aristotle, the Greek Philosopher, said that “we are what we repeatedly do; and that “excellence is not an act. . . it’s a habit.” My lateness has been a bad habit ever since freshman year in high school. I kid you not that I was ALWAYS late every single day to my first period class, that in my high school transcript, they had forgotten to count the days and instead gave me 0 lateness (throughout my 4 years!!! 🙂 ) I tend to leave my house thinking I have enough time to make it to my first period and I ended up being 5-10 min late. There is a stereotype that all Filipinos are late to something… Which in this case is true, lol. Im not proud that often times im late and i need to immediately change this habit for the next semester coming up and the rest of my life when i get a career/job.

I think the first three months of college has been stressful. I’ve come to realize that college is more work compared to high school so I definitely need time to adjust to it. There’s a lot of reading and writing that needs to be done in a short amount of time and I’ve found myself constantly losing sleep just to finish an assignment. I tend to procrastinate often so it doesn’t really help when I have a ton of work that needs to get done. I think over time  I’ll  learn to manage my time wisely and not be so stressed out.

College is a big challenge for me. At the first three months of college, I did a lot of reading and writing. I used to think about having a part-time job when I attend college. However, It turns out that I spent most time on homework and I had less time to relax. So I didn’t have time to work. Sometimes, I checked the syllabus before I sleep and I was shocked because I found out that I have more to do. I always felt tired and sleepy. As time goes by, I think I am getting to college life gradually and I hope that I can join some clubs or activities in college next semester.

This relates to every assignment I get in school whether it was middle school, high school or college. One of my classes assigned the class a 7-9 page essay and the first thing I thought of was “Oh great, a 7 page essay to do over Spring break.” I’m not terrible at essays but I have an issue starting them and I do tend to wait around forever. Something similar was when one of my my professors asked the class to do 5-8 citations and after I did 5, I submitted it.

Why do I go to college? Its so annoying having to wake up at 545 every single morning. I hate some of my teachers, hate the commute so why do I even go? It is almost every day that I deal with this and I come up with a basic answer. I need college if I want to get anywhere in life- everyone says it but the reality is, they are all right.  Being around people who I know that went to college and graduated and being around the ones who didn’t go or finish- the difference is huge- and my mind is at ease when I realize that in the end everything will be MUCH easier once college is done- and finishing is non-negotiable.

I don’t find my freshman experience at Baruch to differ that much from what I have experienced at high school as a freshman. The rest of my time at high school was fun and exciting so I would hope that this will apply to my college experience at well. I am more reserved than I would like to be but I am trying to work on that. The main difference between the two would lie in my class schedule. I no longer have to get to class by 8 and I am required to be in class for less time. The extra time I can sleep each morning feels great. However despite this schedule, I will still procrastinate.

Although there aren’t many new things that changed between high school and college, the few things that did helped me out a good bit. Back in high school, believe it or not, I was very introverted  in class. For a lot it would be hard to believe because now I’m this loud, obnoxious extrovert. But then again this could be a good thing because i learned to break out of my shell and express myself better, even though it may not be a good thing at times.

However I’m still not good with time management. an example is this because im doing it 2 min before its due.

For me there isn’t much difference between my experience in college from high school. Waking up at 7am to make sure that I make it on time to class in high school, and it’s the same in college. However I barely have time for myself in college due to the level of difficulties in class and homeworks. I remember my dad dropping me off to school every morning before he went to work, but now I have more freedom. I take the train on my way to and back from college.

In school I only had friends from my country, but now I am friends with people from different countries and there is more diversity.  This showed me that I can get along with other people besides my country very well, and I look forward to having classes with them next semester too. College is a new beginning and I want to start a new life here at Baruch and build a successful future in life.

I get more free time in college, but I am busier comparing with my high school. I used to watch TV for hours per day. I don’t have too much time to relax now. I have to do a lot of reading and writing. The good thing is I learned how to manage my time gradually.

Another thing is I am more willing to communicate with others except Chinese. I only spoke to Chinese  before since I was not used to speak English and I was shy. Now, the situation becomes better. I am thankful for my friends who make me more confident. Even though my English is not good enough, I get confidence at least.

College is somewhat similar to high school, in a way its twice the work, college is helping students in becoming more responsible adults in classes or on their spare time, and it gives tools and skills for students; to prepare themselves on their careers they’re pursuing in the future.

Transition from high school to college was a bit similar when It was my first year in high school. However, college life is more fast pace orientated and the professors or instructors won’t likely to spoon feed you like back in high school. College is another ball game man, you’re on the big leagues now, its not something to slack on (Freshman Year maybe) and its something to look forward to everyday. I hope my college career would be an amazing experience like what I experienced in high school.

***College is a fresh start, make the best out of it and enjoy it!