Semester Review: Fall 2018

My fall semester promptly ended at 3:50 pm EST on Saturday, December 15 as I handed in my last final exam of the season. Goodness, it was glorious. I went down from the disability testing center to a campus market and grabbed some snacks for the coming week (I’m still here for a bit) before heading back to my room. Of course, once there I promptly watched two episodes of Riverdale and fell asleep. The gloomy skies, steady torrential downpour, and pure exhaustion of finals had gotten to me and I was so ready to give in to a nice, restful nights sleep.

But friends, this is me we’re talking about so naturally, my body doesn’t allow for nice, restful nights. I was awoken after a few hours by the sounds of residents moving through the halls, rather boisterously, and found myself on the edge of being exhausted yet awake enough to do something mindless as distraction. The obvious choice here is to pick up reading a book about a chronic illness, right?

Saturday night, can’t sleep, reading medical literature and eating salt and vinegar chips. For me, this feels ironically perfect: a nice break from the stress, hustle and bustle that have consumed the past month of my life. As soon as there’s an opportunity to stop the studying and writing  and learning, I find myself unable to. No, I don’t love that it involves insomnia, but I’ll take what I can get!

This semester was a long one, even though it feels like just yesterday I was on my way home from my wonderful trip to visit Julia, hastily packing up my things to head off to my university for Resident Assistant training. 

I distinctly remember being told that each year is different, and sophomore year can feel like you’ve been dropped on your own with none of the guidance you had throughout your first year. Well, I can’t tell you exactly how I feel about things, but the difference in general support was obvious to me.

I didn’t have to check in with a peer mentor, didn’t have the same people in my courses or who I could plan to see at enrichment hour, it was all new again.

Which I loved.

Not that I didn’t love the connections I made last year, or that they didn’t carry into this year – I am so grateful for the ones that did! I just love love love meeting new people and observing new dynamics. That aspect of things was really exciting for me.

But back to that whole on campus support thing…

There was still plenty of support available to me, thanks to my role as a Resident Assistant. I’ve met some of the most incredible people through being an RA! I am so happy that I was able to take on this role. It has definitely kept me busy this semester – it’s even what’s keeping me from being able to head home for break now! But it is so worth it. I’m on duty late next week and then I’m good to go home!

Things were busy this semester.

One thing that felt completely out of hand at some points throughout the semester were meetings. Holy cow, did I have meetings this semester. Check ins, follow ups, 1 on 1’s with my boss, small staff meetings, 1 on 1’s with my residents, area staff meetings, all staff meetings, meetings with professors, meetings for group projects, study sessions, group homework sessions… there are probably even more I’m forgetting! Basically, if I went two days without a meeting, I started to question myself and feel like I’d missed something.

Aside from all of the meetings associated with my role as an RA, there was also a ton of planning, prepping, and perfecting things behind the scenes. Thankfully we only had our area staff meetings once a month, because though I love my co workers, we were only all available to meet at 10:30 pm on Tuesdays. Needless to say, 10:30 pm on Tuesday to 12:30 am on Wednesday is not my prime, nor does it set me up for a very successful week. Thankfully, my classes on Wednesday didn’t start til 11:00 am because you know on those late nights I wasn’t dragging myself out of bed til around 10:00. This meeting time is going to change next semester as all of our schedules change, and all I can say is thank goodness.

I made six bulletin boards this semester, and I’m so looking forward to sharing them with you soon! I took photos as I made them, so I’m hoping to have full tutorials up shortly now that I have time to write them! Next semester I’m hoping to get them up sooner, as I was late on a couple this fall, but both were due to circumstances out of my control. I would love to win board of the month at some point in my RA career, so maybe that will happen in the spring! I’ll just have to make sure they’re up on time.

I learned a lot this semester from being an RA. I’ve met some really cool people who have truly enriched my life and expanded my world view. It’s been a magical time.

Now to classes…

I took five courses this semester, and I completed them all!

My favorite may have been my Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory class. It was math heavy and I loved it. Unfortunately, it was my only major level course I took this semester, as I have to get through macro and micro theory to be able to get to take the upper level economics courses available at my university. Unfortunate, but there’s no way around it!

My marketing class was fun and I learned a lot. Accounting taught me that even though I don’t love it, I’m competent and capable of it; more so than most of my class. Theology was an interesting adventure and I may have to write a whole post about it. It was my first experience with any sort of religious education and I found the way it was taught and much of the material quite fascinating.

And that brings us to Philosophy, my arch nemesis.

I had a (and I don’t use this term lightly) horrible professor that well and truly ruined my philosophy experience. The class was absolutely horrific at times, and I am so happy to be finished and rid of it. Sadly, I do still have to take an upper philosophy course to complete the core required at my university. However, I’m taking it with a professor who was highly recommended to me and I was able to choose the subject, so it isn’t just a random whatever the professor wants to throw at you as long as its within certain parameters sorta deal. Though to be frank, this semester’s professor didn’t even keep it within the given parameters or cover what was supposed to be covered… it was just a nightmare. But it’s over. I’m through with it, and moving on.

Did I meet my goals this semester?

Great question I can tell you right off the bat that no, I did not complete all of my goals. But hey, that’s okay!

Publish 10 Blog Posts

Yes, I did! I was honestly shocked as I feel that I barely blogged this semester, but I did more than I thought!

Blog Posts Published This Semester:

• September Holidays and August Wrap-Up
• 3 Podcasts I am Loving Right Now
• Dysautonomia Awareness Month 2018
• October Holidays and September Wrap-Up
• 18 Lessons from Age 18
• Summer Reflection 2018
• College Morning Routine: Autumn Edition
• I’m Voting in the Midterm Elections… Are You?
• November Holidays and October Wrap-Up
• December Holidays and November Wrap-Up

Visiting a farm and having a fall photoshoot didn’t happen.

Oh well. I did have plans and the best intentions for this to happen but they fell through. There’s always next year!

I did go to a soccer game…

On an absolutely freezing night (one of the first cold evenings of the fall), but I got a free t shirt so… worth it?

Join a club and become an active member.

Yeahhhh this sort of happened? More news regarding this coming next semester, I promise. That probably sounds cryptic as heck, but it will make sense soon. Don’t worry.

Academically?

I followed my five points outlined in my Third Semester Goals post, and I feel things went as well as they could have, all things considered. I spent a lot more time going to and preparing for doctor’s appointments, completing medical testing, all that jazz.

Don’t get me wrong.

I did well this semester and learned a ton! I simply don’t have my final grades back yet, as people are still in finals. Seeing as I have finished, I wanted to get this up while things are still fresh, thus I don’t know my actual grades and can’t share my GPA with you or anything like that.

And with that my fall semester review comes to a close!

I am so excited to see what the spring semester of my sophomore year at university has in store, so be sure to follow along! More exciting end of year and holiday content is on its way…