College is a roller coaster. It starts gently, then all of a sudden you find yourself struggling to balance your life. College is a very pleasant place to be because I get to order things from Amazon without asking my mom for her card, and I can go out anytime I like. However, all these things have been like 5% of my college experience. The remaining 95% was spent with me pulling my locks as I read my 48-page paper on my screen and scribbled in my notebook. These experiences have taught me things about myself I never expected to learn.
I do not know how to work under pressure. I was living in a state of denial when I clicked the option that said I worked well under pressure in all the personality quizzes I took. In high school, I did the International Baccalaureate, so this is not the first time tons of work have been piled on me in a short amount of time. However, college has made me realize that I was never good at working well under pressure. I have to lament to a friend, cry if necessary, and then start my work. I do not think that is how a person who works well under pressure behaves.
I am not an introvert. One thing I loved to talk about when I was with a group of friends was how difficult it was for me to become friends with other people. However, that was not entirely true when I came to college. Yes, I had the usual jitters and anxiety that the person I want to talk to will think I am not worthy of their time, but it did not feel like the end of the world. I found it relatively easy to go up to people and comment on their outfits, hair, or general disposition. Maybe it was because everyone was desperate to make friends that they were excessively friendly.
I prefer calling people to texting them. In high school, I was not a bad texter but I was certainly not the best. Sometimes, I felt lazy and it took me hours to reply to a text but I would never leave someone on delivered for more than two hours. Currently, I tell myself I’ll reply to a text in the next thirty minutes and remember it two days later. This is not because I do not respect the people in my life, I just find it difficult to text. I also noticed that I am keeping in touch with my high school friends who Facetime me. Hopefully, I become a better texter, because calling everyone I know can also be overwhelming and time-consuming.
I might be addicted to yogurt. The funny thing is before I came to Mount Holyoke I was not a big fan of yogurt. There were nights in my home where we ate yogurt with nuts and fruits and watched a movie. However, I did not expect to be at the Harvest Station at least once a day to get the low-fat vanilla yogurt. I think this is just me missing my family and not me liking yogurt.
During orientation, when my orientation leader asked what I wanted college to look like to me, I said growth. I want to grow with every single experience I have here and I believe that I am currently doing that. Although the work is almost drowning me, I am loving it here!
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