College

Kareem Abdelkader FY101 9/25/13 Assignment #1 Boston University: An Unreal Experience My first four weeks here at Boston University have consisted of a range of emotions. I’ve experienced success, anxiety, frustration, happiness, confusion, and a wealth of other feelings. The transition has not been completely smooth; however I am definitely excited for the next four years here. I look forward to meeting and bonding with the extremely interesting and diverse Boston University student population. College is certainly a new experience, one that has so far been filled with great times, but also some hardships. Overall, I believe that these next four years of my life will change me immensely and hopefully develop me into the man I want to be. The biggest challenge I have faced so far since starting this new journey is the concept of time management. Back home I always had my mom there to remind me to do my work or in other words make sure I did my work in a timely manner. Now that I am on my own, I have a new sense of freedom, which is both a good and a bad thing. On the one hand I can stay out as late as I want on the weekends or have friends over without asking, but on the other so much more responsibility is now required of me to be successful. I am making my best effort to rise to the challenge though, I have been setting all sorts of reminders and alarms on my phone, going to office hours for professors and overall trying my hardest to make the most out of my time. The style of my classes is very different from what I was used to in high school. Most of my classes are huge and consist of 100+ students, making it hard to receive one on one attention from a professor unless you go to office hours. I have had some long nights with little sleep, but thankfully I am faithful I will survive. Despite the difficulties I have faced thus far, I have also had success. I’ve been doing really well on my biology quizzes and labs, got a job at a shoe store called Finish Line in Galleria Mall, and gained many new friends through my FY101 class and meeting people in my dorm. I’ve learned that college is what you make of it; if you put your best effort into it the possibilities are endless. When I went to SPLASH, I was introduced to all the various clubs and organizations that I can become a part of, and I signed up for so many, but then I realized how demanding my courses are and decided to only concentrate on a few clubs. I joined the Lebanese club, the pre-med society, and plan to become involved in student government. My mission while I’m here Boston University is to try my best to take advantage of all that I have at my disposal here, because it would be a shame if I didn’t. I came to Boston University not really knowing what to expect, I didn’t know who I would meet, how I would survive without my family, and the scariest thing of all was that I was going somewhere out of my comfort zone. It is strange seeing how much my life has changed in just a few months; I’m living somewhere completely different and adapting to a whole new environment. So far the Boston University experience has been a great ride and I am looking forward to continuing on this journey. The first four weeks have taught me a lot. I learned that cramming doesn’t work as well as it did in high school, I’ve learned that when you have a college meal plan it can be dangerous, and I’ve learned that I am in control of my own destiny. I have an idea of where I want to be in four years, but I’ve come to realize in just these first four weeks that here at Boston University it’s not just about going to class, getting the grades, and getting a degree, it’s so much more than that. I truly feel that I have been given the opportunity to explore not only what I want to do with my life in the future, but also to discover and explore who I am as a person. Boston University has exceeded my expectations, and I am excited to see what the next four weeks bring, and I am beyond excited to see what the next four years bring. I can definitely see this university as place that is going to help me make my dreams come true.