Reflection On the Fall 2018 Semester
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Education

A Reflection On the Fall 2018 Semester

Reflection ... rant ... same difference.

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Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash
Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

Round 3 at Fordham has commenced, and this ending has prompted some reflection on the semester as a whole, and more specifically on myself. I faced some hefty challenges during my first year of college, but sophomore year is the year when you're supposed to be comfortable, familiar, and established in your home away from home. I'll admit, I'm still working on this part. But in my defense, sophomore year seems to have a reputation as being the hardest year, and I'm only half way there!

Academically, this semester began easier than predicted. I felt situated in all of my classes, I felt in control of my grades, and I even had some pretty lengthy downtime to do anything besides homework (which, if I'm being honest, usually consisted of watching Netflix). But as I began to look ahead in each of my syllabi (which consisted of way more pages than anticipated), I realized that each class had its fair share of projects, essays, and presentations worth significant amounts of my grade. These assignments began piling up sooner than expected, and my life soon felt like every time I looked up, there was another essay calling my name. (Just a tip for all my high school/college readers: it pays to be prepared and organized before you start drowning in work). Anyway, this is the most frustrating part of college: feeling less than accomplished when you finish an assignment because there's always another one waiting to be tackled. It doesn't help that half of these classes bear little interest to me, considering they're still part of the list of core classes I'm required to take. It felt silly to me that I had to worry so much about philosophy when I would never have to talk about or use Aristotle's writings on virtue ethics again! I know, I know, it's all about being a well-rounded person. I just wasn't expecting the stress that would come with trying to become informed and insightful on a surplus of topics and issues.

This stress, unsurprisingly, carried over into other aspects of my life. Being in one of the largest, most popular cities in the world comes with more pressure than you think. Not only would I want to go and explore new shops, restaurants, and activities in Manhattan, but I also felt an immense amount of pressure to do so just because I had such easy access! And yet, often times, the stress of schoolwork got in the way. On a Saturday morning, when all my friends would plan to go to brunch in Manhattan, we would all wake up and decide we would rather take a mental health day and sleep than get up and travel into the city. This didn't happen all the time, of course, but I can remember a number of instances when, despite the guilty feeling, I would rather relax in my dorm than tire myself out some more by navigating my way through Times Square.

Lastly, on my list of things to rant about, this semester was the first time I really began to worry about the future, specifically pertaining to the job aspect of my life. I'm not entirely sure how this dynamic presents itself at other schools, but at Fordham, the biggest buzz on campus usually has something to do with who has what internship and where it is and whether or not you have one lined up for you in the weeks to come. Being sophomores, this doesn't seem like something that should be that big of a worry. But think of our location! It's so easy to go into the city at least once a week to work with a high-end brand, well-known bank, or prestigious agency. And if you don't take advantage of this opportunity, you're most definitely not using Fordham to the best of your abilities.

This article probably seems to fall a little on the depressing side, and that's obviously not what I mean to happen. I definitely had plenty of fun, relaxing, care-free times this semester with my friends and family, including football games (despite Fordham's below-average record), shopping sprees, parties, and everything in between. I mostly mean to write this article to show that the label "college" doesn't necessarily mean "having a great time all the time." People love to assume that the schoolwork of college doesn't really exist and that your biggest stressor is what you're going to wear to the house-parties each weekend. As much as that definitely happens (@sarah, @caroline, and @allie lol), it's most definitely not the only thing we're worrying about. It's more than okay to focus on grades, and it's definitely more than okay to be struggling with this focus. Although there's the stereotypical college lifestyle everyone likes to portray on social media, everyone should be aware that there's definitely some stress going on behind that little screen, and more importantly, everyone should be aware that that stress is okay.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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