First Weeks of College

The first weeks of college have been challenging. It’s definitely what I was expecting and more. The workload is substantially large and a lot of study hours are to be dedicated. My hardest challenge is not necessarily the work but the time managing put into the work. 

Time managing is key; you have to balance out your day. My days usually consist of at least one course per day and each class is two hours or more. That leaves the rest of the day to do whatever you need done. This still doesn’t include the online quizzes, projects, and other deadlines you have to satisfy for a certain course. This is where time managing comes into play. I have a PowerPoint presentation due next week, and I’m dedicating about two hours on it a day. At this pace, I should be done with my presentation and all the necessary practice by October 14th. Working ahead of time is a must for these types of things, because you never know what you may run into. 

My impression of college was obviously, lots of work, lots of studying, and a broad social life. I was aware of time managing because many of my tutors, and mentors told me about it and warned me that if I didn’t set up my schedule ahead of time I could be faced with troubles in the future. I listened to them, and thanks to that advice I get more work done with time to spare and fun social activities to attend. I advise everyone to do the same. This has just been the first two weeks and I feel so familiar with the place and my surroundings. I feel so much at home, and the students here are so welcoming. I couldn’t imagine myself elsewhere. My friends are always encouraging me, and we feed off each other’s success. 

The toughest aspect about college at the moment is balancing your schedule. Many students I know have a whole bunch of units, while I have the most relaxing schedule. Majoring in Computer Engineering means that the average student graduates in four and a half years; this means the average units per quarter is 14, I’m only taking 12 this quarter. I plan on taking 16 units the next quarter and 14 the following quarter. I want to challenge myself academically, and prove to everyone back home that anything could be done with hard work, and determination. Many people have helped get on this road, and I don’t plan on letting them down, I want to make my family proud, and I want my siblings to follow along. College is the best thing that has happened to me, and this is just the first leap.

-Enrique, UC Irvine '16