I cannot even believe I am writing this but here are some of my thoughts on my freshman year of college coming to a close!
It is so bittersweet. I am definitely feeling the end-of-year burnout. Socially, however, I am not ready to leave.
In this home stretch, so many assignments that seemed like months away just a few weeks ago are now urgent items on my to-do list. It is overwhelming, and I must remind myself to work ahead on my final projects next semester (I will probably make the same mistake). This overwhelming struggle fuels my end-of-semester burnout and makes me feel ready for the semester to end.
To reflect, the transition from high school to college-level classes was a huge adjustment and at this point in the year, I am ready for a break. I took eighteen credits this semester; if nothing else, I learned how to manage my time well. It took a lot of time and energy to balance six classes, a social life, sorority recruitment and extracurriculars, but I am glad I did it all. I took six very different classes this semester because I felt unsure about what path I wanted to go down. After this semester, I now feel like I gave all of my prospective paths a fair chance and am satisfied with the end result of all of my classes. That being said, I learned what types courses captured my attention and which subjects are not in my future.
I declared a major in Media and Professional Communications with a focus in Writing For The Professions, a minor in Law, Criminal Justice, and Society, with a certificate in Public and Professional Writing (yes I know it is a mouthful). Even if I change any of the above, I genuinely love learning about all these subjects and feel like this is a good starting point. From this academic standpoint, I am ready for the end of the semester and to take a well-deserved break.
From a social standpoint, I am not ready to leave at all. The friends that I have made here are some of my favorite people to be around. They never failed to brighten my day and make me laugh, and I struggle with the idea that I won’t eat dinner with them every day for four months. Thankfully, several of my friends that I have made at Pitt live under an hour away from me, so I will be able to see them quite frequently. I am definitely excited to live with my two best friends next year, but that does not make four months without them seem any easier.
I also am curious to see the new dynamic at home. I am used to the freedom of being on my schedule at college, so it will be a readjustment to being at home when someone else needs a car or dinner at a specific time. Obviously at school, I have plans and obligations at specific times, but it is a very different dynamic when at home.
To conclude, I am super excited for summertime and to spend time with my family and dogs. I have a lot to look forward to, like beach vacations, going back to the job that I love, seeing my high school friends and family time. Even though it went way too fast, it feels monumental that I finished my freshman year of college and I could not be more excited to see what sophomore year holds.