End of Semester Thoughts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwKOnDXdddk

ATL Exploration

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP_y5HmLMB4

Major Exploration

First Video Blog (I finally figured it out!!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSHknHefKPQ
I know it's kind of long, but there was so much to say!!!

Mid-Semester Thoughts

I think this semester is going pretty well so far. None of my classes are super overwhelming which is good. Also, I've done some really exciting things that I've never done before like go on a roller-coaster, go down a monstrous water-slide, and eat Chick-fil-a.
The most difficult academic adjustment I've had to make so far has definitely been in regards to homework assignments. Instead of in high school when you are assigned homework on a daily basis (which forces you to study everyday basically), we are assigned huge, long-term assignments and have to manage the time to complete them ourselves. These are assignments that can definitely not be done in one night.
Socially the most difficult adjustment has been first of all, meeting a lot of new people and making a whole new group of friends. In high school, I had had pretty much the same group of friends since middle school and so making an entirely new group has definitely been a big change. Furthermore, because there are always fun things going on in the evenings, a big change for me has been saying no when I'm invited to go somewhere because of homework.
Fortunately none of my classes have been super difficult yet, however I know that Calc II is about to get really hard. The first half of the semester was pretty much stuff that I had already learned in Calc last year, but now we are starting a new topic (linear algebra( which I know basically nothing about so I'm guessing it will much more difficult for me.
What I want to change for the latter half of this semester is trying not to procrastinate as much. I need to stop watching movies and Youtube videos and focus on my homework. If I put the time I spend watching movies into studying, I would definitely not be worried about any of my classes.

I'm really enjoying Georgia Tech, and not just because I get free t-shirts basically every time I decide to walk to the Student Center or the fact that there is a giant water-slide in the CRC (which is super awesome!). No, the real reason is that I absolutely adore my Matheson 1 hall-mates! Open doors make happy floors! My classes are good, although the amount of work seems to be picking up but my professors are great! I especially like my English and HTS professors. As for Atlanta, I hope to be able to see more of it besides just the skyline from the CULC. But I'm not worried, I know there is plenty of time to explore. On the top of my list is Piedmont Park and a Braves game (even though I'm a true Red Sox fan at heart)! 

College life as opposed to high school life? There are so many differences it's hard to know where to begin. The biggest adjustment I would have to say is time management. The professors don't force you to do homework every night, instead an immense assignment is assigned to be due in 2 weeks. Manageable, but not in one night! Also, there are so many awesome organizations to get involved in, it's hard to decide which ones to really put my effort into. Hopefully, in a couple weeks, the information sessions will be over and I will basically know which organizations I am sticking with. In high school, fun activities and things pretty much only happened on the weekends, but here, there is always some cool event going on (like watching The Internship on Tech Green!). 

Living pretty far from my family is another adjustment, but I can talk to them pretty much anytime I want on Skype, which is really nice. Same with my high school friends. We still talk and give each other updates when we have some free time. Most of my friends have only been in school for a week so they're still getting adjusted, but it's really fun to exchange stories, especially since I traveled the farthest out of my friends. Another huge change is not having to ask my parents permission to go out or to do something.

4 things to Explore:

1. Piedmont Park sounds really awesome! I really would like to see the Botanical Garden and just take some time to explore the expansive park.

2. The High Museum is another place I will definitely go to at some point during my college experience. Although, they have The Girl With the Pearl Earring through September 29th, so I should probably go sometime soon!

3. The Ferst Theater seems like it has a lot of performances and opportunities to see great shows. I hope to really look into what they have to offer and take advantage of this year's amazing program.

4. The Intramurals program at the CRC sounds really fun! I am definitely going to explore joining my residence hall dodge-ball team.

This semester, I would really like to NOT fail any of my classes. Yeah, that would be awesome. So in order to actually do that, I really want to stay on top of my homework assignments so that I can have time to go to fun events like football games. I also would like to join a Freshmen Leadership Organization, preferably Emerging Leaders or FreshGA. But if that doesn't work out, I am also interested in MOVE which does service projects throughout Atlanta. I also heard an upperclassman say he was involved in Best Buddies which is definitely something I would like to participate in. My main goal when it comes to extra curricular activities this semester, is to narrow my focus on 1 or 2 groups that I really enjoy because getting involved in too many organizations could be overwhelming! When it comes to family communication, I plan on calling my parents once a week to give them updates and let them know what's going on. I would also like to make time to write some letters to my Nana since she has troubles with technology ;) So far I have been good about keeping in touch with my siblings via Skype. I also enjoy sending picture texts to my younger sister when I see something awesome on campus (like the camel!).