On August 19th, I will be moving back into the dorms at CSULB. I have a week-long orientation and then on the 28th, I start my classes. A few things are changing this year, but some things will remain the same. I have a new roommate, but I will still live in the same dorm room I did last year. Although I am excited for the new semester I am worried about having difficult classes, meeting my new roommate, and seeing my friends from last year.
It is only my second year of college, but I am already taking more upper division courses and diving headfirst into my two majors—History and Classics: Greek Civilization. Perhaps what scares me the most is the perceived difficulty of the classes that I am taking. One of my classes is a core class required for all History majors and nearly every person who has taken that class has stated that it is a difficult, yet rewarding class. I do feel that the some of the difficulty has been exaggerated, however I do not doubt that there is some difficulty involved in passing the class. My older classmates and friends have reassured me that I picked the best possible professor and that what is required of me will be clearly defined. A second class that I am nervous for is my required Greek language class because I will have to learn another alphabet and another set of grammar rules in addition to my Latin language class. However, despite the difficulty of my classes this year, I am looking forward to taking them because they are related to my major and I am confident that I will do well in them because I do not procrastinate.
The second aspect of my second-year college experience that fills me with trepidation is meeting my new roommate. I was unable to pick my roommate this year, so I had one randomly assigned to me. While we have communicated via social media, I have no way of knowing their true colors until move-in day. My hope is that we will get along well, maintain the cleanliness of our room, and not be up all night doing homework. I believe that this year I will have a greater opportunity to get to know my roommate because we are moving in a week before classes start, so neither of us are caught up in the routine of going to class, doing homework, and going to bed.
Lastly, I hope that I will see some of the people I met last year because it will make move-in day and the orientation more fun and less nerve-racking. I made a ton of friends in my dormitory last year through playing Super Smash Bros. and attending events held at my dormitory. It’s always nice to see people you know because then you know that you are not alone in a new school-year.
I am looking forward to my second year of college, however I do realize that it will be a much harder year and that quite a few things will change. But I am ready to embrace the changes and the difficulty of this school-year because it will be a great experience and it will bring me one step closer to graduating.