College: Harder than expected, but not impossible.

Jumping into my first weeks of school was not as stressful as I had imagined them. I attended all my classes, and I actually grew to like all my professors. I am getting my work done on time, and I am keeping up with most of my assignments. Everything was going along great, until it came the time for my first two college midterms. That was the most stressful week of my entire school career. I studied for a total of seven hours one day simply because I knew I had too many commitments on other days to get any studying done. I made sure that studying for those test was my main priority but I also needed to take care of other schoolwork and my campus activities as well. For the first few days I fumbled around a bit, I was simply trying to get used to the swing of college that I felt like it might all be a bit too much. But I pushed on through the week and ultimately came out on top. I passed both my midterms with flying colors, and now I fully understood what the meaning of hard work is.

At first college seemed like it was going to be a never-ending cycle of reading, homework and studying, as though I was never going to get to have a social life. However, I did not realize how many student organizations and clubs my campus has to allow students to get involved in activities that suit their interest. I found two clubs that fit my interest perfectly; mock trial and water polo. I joined both clubs, and now I love college even more than when I started. I have made amazing friends through my clubs and those living in my residential hall. I always thought college was going to be tough and that making friends would be hard, but now I find myself taking classes I love, being involved in activities that I enjoy and benig surrounded by friends that mean the world to me. Now I hope to take my dream to the next level. Now that I am here in college, I want to meet the right people and make the right connections so that I can be guided onto the correct path for my intended field of study. I want to meet people that will support me in all my decisions, and I want to be able to ultimately, make my enormous student debt be completely worth my while. I always tell my parents, I will never work a day in my life if I do what I love, and that means me pursuing my dreams in college and always striving for the best.

-Alejandra, University of Minnesota '16