FINAL ASSESTMENT

College what does it really mean? One way Webster dictionary describes it as is an independent institution of higher learning offering a course of general studies leading to a bachelor’s degree. This definition use to scare me more than anything because of the two words independent institution. My first thought was college will be a lot different than high school and I loved high school so I didn’t want it to change. In high school our teachers told us everyday when homework and papers were due and when we would have tests and quizzes and I was not ready for that to change at all. What if my college professors did not care if I passed or failed? I’m the type of person that needs inspiration or just a little encouragement and I knew in college I wouldn’t get that from certain professors. I knew I had to be independent and it’s something I never was so I was mostly scared of the transition from high school to college but our learning communities actually helped me a lot.

I feel that for the most part I succeeded with my course goals for the semester; I never thought I would make it but I did. It was the scariest semester of my life because as I mentioned earlier I have never been independent and for the first time I was. I didn’t have my parents or teachers telling me when to get things done and I was fine. I thought that I needed someone telling me when and how to do something or I would never get my work done but it wasn’t true at all. I told myself when to get my work done and it always got done, I never missed any important assignments in any of my classes. I’m proud that I can be independent and not struggle with my classes and work load. I have to admit though having the learning community personally helped me because I had people that I actually became friends with going through the same thing as me. Everyone in the class was struggling with the transition of high school to college and we shared it together. We all had what seemed like a hard work load but we got through it.



I'm going to make a chart to help with time management



Even though I believe I have grown as an individual in college I have to work on my time management skills. I do all my work and I do it on time but I always wait till the last minute I just can’t help it. Let’s take this paper for instance we’ve had over a month and I waited to the last day it was due to put the finishing touches on my paper. Procrastination is my worst quality as a student and something I need to work on next semester and something I think I can fix. It won’t happen over night but if I push myself to get my work done earlier I know I can do it. I still have a lot of my bad high school traits with me at college because I did the same thing last year; wait till the last minute to finish a paper. I know that they would come out a lot better if I just took the effort to start right away but I just can’t, something always gets in the way but I need to change that. Along with time management I have my horrible organization to worry about. I never know where I keep any of my class paper and tend to loss a lot of work I need. I start of the year neat and organized but slowly progress into a slob. I have folders and notebooks for every subject but somehow I still can’t stay organized. It just doesn’t make sense.

  This semester has been amazing and horrible at the same time but I wouldn’t change a minute of it. I’m a strong believer in taking the good with the bad. The bad qualities and bad days make you who you are. I have had one of the worst days of my life on this semester but it has only shaped me into a better me. I learned from my mistakes and know where I went wrong and know never to do those things again. I truly believe this class will help me with my remaining time at Southern because of everything you taught us. You taught us about deadlines, how to be more tech savvy, and you taught us how to be a strong vocal person in class. I have just started my journey at Southern and I can’t wait to see how it ends. I hope some of my fellow friends from this inquiry class will be there at the end of my Southern journey.

My First Project

Next Semester

My personal goals and academic goals are basically the same. I’m here at Southern to get a good education and graduate in four years. I don’t want C’s in my time at Southern so for next semester my personal and academic goal is to get all A’s and B’s. If I get all A’s and B’s I’ll be a very happy person. People always say I worry to much about grades and it shouldn’t so matter. Maybe if I relax a little then I wouldn’t stress so much but I feel if I get below a B then I’m letting myself and my parents down. That is why I’m glad I know what I need to do next semester to achieve my goal. I need to focus on my classes be prepared for a hard semester. This semester taught me that hanging out with friends is fun but if you want to succeed in life I need to study more. Another personal goal will be to look for a club that I might like to join. In high school I was in about 4 clubs and it feels weird not being in one at college so I think it might make me feel more apart of Southern if I find a club I’m interested in.

My social goal is to keep all the same friends I have now and make more. All the friends in my dorm I great I talk and hang out with them everyday and were very close. I’ll be happy if we stay friends. There are also the friends I have in my classes now I don’t want to lose touch with them just because were not in the same classes. However I’m really excited to start my new classes and make new friends. It’s always nice to make new friends and that’s what I’m excited for next semester. But I need to make sure it doesn’t affect my academic life like it has this semester.

I should evaluate my time next semester with this website http://www.bucks.edu/~specpop/time-manage.htm

How Far I Have Come!

For the semester I consider my greatest failure and my greatest weakness differently. My greatest failure would be my economics class as of right now I have a C+ and if I don’t ace the final it will stay that way. To me anything below a B is failure and I’m very disappointed with myself in this class and I’ve been studying nonstop for the final to make sure I make it up to a B. I know I should have studied harder in the beginning and then I wouldn’t have to be in the position where I need an A on the final but I know I will do it.



You need to learn how the break your weakness 



My greatest weakness has been the last month without a laptop. It has been so hard for me considering that everything now a day you need a laptop. With all my papers, research paper, blogs, presentations, and making the video. I was in the library almost everyday and night using there computers it was very inconvenient not having my own anymore.

My biggest strength now is time management and being on my own. When I was in high school I relied on my parents for everything they told me when to do homework, when to clean my room, when to eat, and when I could and couldn’t hang out with my friends. Now that I live on campus I’m my own person and I know how to take care of myself. I learned to do my homework and study before I go out and have fun. I also clean my room without being told to and if I want to go out and have fun with my friends I don’t need anyone’s permission. I’ve grown and became my own person finally and that has been my greatest strength this semester growing up.

inq 2

This is still a rough draft and it's out of order but please leave feedback

The Ultimate Dream

My ideal life after college is that I will be have life long friends, a husband, I’ll be successful, have a nice life, and mainly to be happy. As long as I have a good job and family I’ll always be happy. However I know I want to be a paralegal or lawyer. I’ve always had these dream of becoming a lawyer and helping the innocent that can’t help themselves. When I was younger my mom and would watch lifetime a lot and lifetime movies always involved someone getting framed for murder or kidnapping or something like that and I dreamed of becoming some that would help the innocent. Now that I’ve grown up I know how hard it would be to become a lawyer so right now I’m settling for becoming a paralegal but who knows maybe one day I will be a lawyer.

As I was saying before though as long as I have people that love me and a family and I’m happy that would be my ideal life after college. Being happy is all you can really ask for in life but I know that if I was lawyer no job would make me happier. Who wants to be in a boring office job there whole life never really accomplishing anything. I want to be someone that conquers life and makes it an adventure. Being a lawyer in my eyes is the least boring job in the world because your always doing something. I personally love to argue and win the argument so I know that would be a good job for me. I also love helping people so becoming a lawyer after college is the ultimate dream and who knows maybe it will come true.

I'll miss everyone!

Me, Madison, and Katie

I loved our little learning community. In a way it was just like high school, it was the best type of transition we could have asked for. We really needed to be with the same people in two classes it was helpful. I love everyone in our inquiry and English class there all awesome, I meet some really great friends in this class and I’m going to miss everyone. Thankfully I’m still in some of the same classes as a few of my good friends, a lot of us are taking the same English class, and Madison and Jocelynn are in my math class I’m excited to still see everyone. I also know that I’m going to stay in touch with Sarah, Shelby, and Melissa because we all get a long so well and there friends I definitely want to stay in contact with.

These learning communities were made to bring people together and it did. It was also meant to bring a group of people together that are all going through the same thing. We are all freshman trying to get the hang of things whether its dealing with homework, friends, roommates, or teachers we all know what the other one is going through. We also are all there for each other the best we can. I made a lot of friends and connections with  the people from my English and inquiry class and I know wouldn’t have been as happy in English if these people weren’t in my inquiry class. I am so sad that English and inquiry are over but I know I will still see my friends next semester!

I hope I made you understand why these learning communities are so important every freshman should have one! Here are some better answers about what a learning community really is http://www.evergreen.edu/washcenter/lcfaq.htm#23