Another semester has come and gone. Last week I wrapped on my third semester, by far it has been the busiest and most challenging one. In the past few short months, I took 19 credits worth of courses, started a new job, joined a Honor’s Society, and made many new friends. I grew as a person, and a changed in more ways than I thought. Back in August, someone told me, by the time Christmas rolled around I would be a different person than I was back in August, and boy they weren’t wrong. The top five things that had the biggest impact or that I learned this semester are:
– Heavy course load- I took more credits and classes this semester. It was a challenge to accomplish everything, but I did it. I found new places to study and made new friends in my classes. I learned so much and the courses I took helped point me in the right direction for what I want to do as a career. I also made the decision based on credits I brought in from high school to graduate early. I will be graduating college in December 2019, a semester early. Two years from Saturday I will be a college graduate, which is both exciting and nerve racking.
– My new job. I took on a new job this semester and it has most definitely impacted me. I have more responsibilities and I had to step out of my comfort zone several times this semester. To be honest, this job has caused me stress, like any job does, but I have grown a lot this semester. I am more assertive and confident (well, that’s something I’m still working on). But, a lot of good has come from this job. I have met a lot of good people that I work with on a daily basis. People that started out as strangers are now some of my closest friends. Although, I am using this Christmas Break to catch up on some much need rest and relaxation, I’ll be excited to start back again in January.
– Try new things. I applied and got accepted into my college’s Honor’s Program. After a lot of persuading from both friends and professors, I decided to apply, and I got in. As a member of the Honor’s Program, I will be taking more rigorous courses, and I will be attending activities as a group. One activity I went to was an Opera performance of “The Marriage of Figaro”, it was very well done and I was happy I made the decision to attend. I am excited to see what other things we do as a group.
– Letting Loose. Between school and my job, I worked a lot this semester, so when I had a weekend free, I took advantage of it with friends and family. I had movie nights with friends, went on trips to the city, danced the night away at semi formals, and headed home for a few weekends to spend time with family. I learned this semester there always must be a balance between work and fun. Thankfully, I had great friends who made sure I had fun even when I wasn’t always up for it. Even my friends from high school were always there if I needed a laugh or a pick me up. Whether it was a night out or a chick flick night in, my friends and I knew how to have a good time.
– Self Care. With a busy semester, I learned how to take care of myself. Whether it was calling it an early night, working out at the gym, reading a new book, rewatching my favorite guilty pleasure on Netflix (hello, did someone say, Gossip Girl?!?!) , or even doing my nails. I learned that I am not helpful to anyone if I don’t take care of myself first. I am still learning to take care of myself. I will always try to say yes, but I need to learn to say no more. I over commit, and I try to please everyone. Towards the end of this semester, I learned to slow down more. That is something I plan to work on more for the spring semester.
Some days it felt like this semester dragged on, and other days, I can hardly believe it is already December! Overall, I had a successful semester. I learned a lot and I gained a lot. I can’t wait to see what next semester has in store for me. Until then….xoxo