College is typically known as a time where people can rebuild themselves. Become something that they have always wanted to be, or totally change their way of life. Most of the changes glorified are ones of triumph, but there are many that are not this way and are typically hidden.
College freshman in the Boston area were asked what some of the good and bad changes have been for them since coming to college. All names have been put in initial form for privacy of participants.
MH: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Since I’ve come to college some of the good changes have been that I have started using a planner and email to try to organize my life, I’ve been trying to be more of a social and open person and then also I (like everyone else) have tried to become more productive with my time. Some of the bad things that I have encountered have been that I started smoking since coming to college, I’ve started skipping and missing more classes than in high school and have mastered the art of procrastination.
BC: Simmons College
Since coming to college, I have seen that I am procrastinating a lot less than my senior year of high school. I don't really know why, maybe because I’m a lot more interested in the material that is bring presented in class or if it is the teachers presenting the material. I am also being challenged more which means that I have to keep up with the work. There haven't really been too many negatives, except for the fact that I’m staying up a lot later, but at the same time, that isn't affecting me too much because I am able to get up later than normally.
ET: Simmons College
Before college I wasn't really outgoing, but instead typically stayed more to myself and my small group of friends. But since coming to college, I have been able to come out of my shell a bit more and hang out with friends a lot more. I have also gotten more comfortable with sharing things with people and sticking up for myself. One of the things that, while I don't think it’s a bad change, but something thats been affecting me is not being able to see my cat every day.
AT: Tufts University
So since coming to college there have been a lot of changes for me. Of course like having to make my own schedule is different but I also had to change a lot of the ways I did things in high school. The major thing I think is that I’ve learned how to study better and actually retain the information instead of just memorizing the facts that I know the teachers will test us on. The down side to figuring this out is that I started my college career with grades that were not too good so I had to work overtime to get them up.
