Being a freshman can be challenging, from learning where everything on campus is to adjusting to finally being an adult and living on your own. For most people as freshmen, there are many mixed emotions within the first couple of weeks such as excitement, homesickness, fear and often times, doubt. Fear and doubt can be eased through the comfort of knowing that you and all the other freshmen in your classes are experiencing the same exact thing. Finding comfort in my peers has been more difficult in my situation as I am a sophomore by credit.
From my freshmen year of high school all the way to my senior year, I was enrolled in Laredo Early College Academy. Through this, I earned myself approximately 43 hours knocking down all my basics. Which feels like a blessing and a curse.
Completing my basics pushed me straight into my major, which means that almost every course I am taking from here on is a Junior-level course. Walking into class on the first day as a 17-year-old felt strange, especially because most of my classmates were already juniors, seniors, fifth years, etc. On the first day, professors already knew more than half the class, but I was the fresh, new face who did not have a clue as to what was going on.
Hearing the professors speak as if we all knew exactly what to do and expect was nerve-racking because I didn’t. I had no clue. I didn’t know my professors the way my classmates already did, and everyone in my classes was already familiar with each other and I didn’t know anyone. The first week of school and everything that came with it was scary, but I learned very quickly that I could push through my fears because of the very welcoming nature of my fellow classmates.
In just two short weeks I have made friends, communicated with my professors on a more personal level, been granted the opportunity to write for the paper, and most importantly, I have become completely acclimated to the situation that I have been put in.
