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Photo #1

The fall was beautiful here at Longwood. A sense of security finally settled in as I finished up my first semester. Then slowly all those warm and toasty feelings began to dissolve like the colorful leaves outside my window.

Conversations turned to the dreaded word “finals.”

Finals aren’t something that students really discuss. It’s more like a hush or a dreaded secret— something you see at the end of your new syllabus.

Now that it’s all over I can now give you the truth: Finals week was just the worst!

As you can see by my first picture, I started out feeling super positive (Photo #1). Surely it couldn’t be much worse than finals in high school. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

 

As I looked out my window at Curry with finals just around the corner, all I could see was the humongous crane hanging outside. (Photo #2) I was ready for it to come smashing through my room and save me from the week ahead. I guess I really didn’t know what to expect. Perhaps I thought I could “wing it” like I had done so many times in high school.

But college is a whole new world. I tried to study, tried to push myself, stayed up all night and crammed like never before. It didn’t work. I felt myself going into a week of no sleep, no food and a feeling of twilight that even Starbucks couldn’t fix.

My third picture speaks for itself. Yes, even a tear might have been shed at some point. (Photo #3)

But you know what? I did it. I made it through my first semester at college—finals and all.

Through all the worry and the tears and the lack of sleep, I learned something:
—I learned that this semester I’ll know what I’m getting into.
—I learned that the next time I want to roll over in bed and skip a class that I’m going to make some coffee and trudge on.
—I learned that you have to take the good with the bad.

Second semester here I come!

 

I am proud to say I not only survived my first semester of college, but actually did pretty well. When I say I did “pretty well” that means that I ended the semester with all A’s and a 4.0 GPA—so not half bad.

With that being said, my first semester was not easy—not at all actually. I worked really hard and spent a lot of time studying, reading, writing and just doing all that I possibly could to succeed. I would say that all the time I devoted to school paid off. I have been invited to join three different honor society groups and have gotten a lot of praise from my family and friends. When I look back on my first semester, I am proud of what I accomplished, but there are also some things I plan on doing a little differently this semester.

When I mentioned earlier that all I did last semester was study, read and write, I wasn’t lying. I guess since it was my first time away from home and at college, I wanted to do everything right and to the best of my ability. I can definitely say I accomplished that. However, this semester I want to do some other things besides schoolwork 24/7.

I plan to get more involved in the clubs I have joined and to make more of a point to have some down time either with my friends or just by myself.

Last semester I learned that getting good grades isn’t the only thing that’s important in college. It is also important to eat lunch or dinner with a friend, to play pool with a group of friends, and to call your family and friends to keep in touch with them. I learned you need to balance all aspects of life and not just focus on one or two.

I learned a lot in my first semester of college and am ready to take what I have learned and make my second semester even better.

Coming back to school after being on break for a month felt really strange, and it honestly still feels a little weird to be back. In a way, I feel like I am starting over again but with some more background knowledge than before.

As I said, I plan on being more involved in clubs and organizations this semester. I am a super dedicated person when it comes to academics. I don’t really know why—I just always have been. I literally have to force myself sometimes to stop doing homework or studying and go hang out with a friend for a while. I plan on making that more a priority this semester. I’m going to work really hard on finding a good balance so I can still do well in school but also do some social things as well.

That’s actually why I titled this journey entry “Getting back into the groove.” I want to keep my motivation for school but I also want to figure out some other things out and “find my groove.”

Just like last semester, I am sure I will learn a lot this spring—things I want to do differently next semester. I kind of think that’s what life is all about, making mistakes and trying your best to learn from them and keep bettering yourself day after day—or, in my case, semester after semester.

Everyone who becomes a Lancer at Longwood eventually hears about Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest is one of the biggest events to take place all year on campus. Since we don’t have a football team, Oktoberfest is sort of like Longwood’s version of homecoming.

At this huge celebration, there are rows and rows of different booths representing organizations and clubs on campus. Some examples are the Honors Association (HSA), the photography club, various ministries on campus. Basically any club or organization you can think of was represented by a booth at Oktoberfest.

At all of these various booths, the main goal was to raise money for the organization. In trying to raise money, many of the booths were selling different types of food—everything from cupcakes to “Oreo balls” to hot dogs and hamburgers.

However, not every booth was selling edible treats. Some had different activities you could pay for or handcrafted items you could purchase. For example, at the photography club booth, you could pay $2 to use their props and have a Polaroid picture taken of you and your friends. (My roommate and I did this—it’s such a cute picture). Or at the HSA booth you could buy little plastic pumpkins or hand-painted coasters! I am a member of the HSA and I volunteered to help sell these items in their booth.

In making my way around all of the different booths I ended up buying some really cool items. (I bought more than I thought I would, but Oktoberfest is only once a year, so it’s OK, right?) Among the items I couldn’t resist were a small record that had been painted blue and says “Longwood University”, a cute hand band, some Longwood stickers of the Rotunda and the Princeps crown symbol, which represents good luck. (There are various crowns on the sidewalks of campus and you’re supposed to step on them for good luck).

Not only is there so much to see, do and eat at Oktoberfest, but there are also live performances taking place. The artists this year included a DJ, a rapper and a country singer. My friend Makayla (see photo at top) and I really enjoyed the performance by the rapper named Bryce Vines—he killed it! There were also some activities you could do for free at the event, like riding a bull (a fake one, of course); an inflatable jousting arena, where I went up against Daniel Easter, who’s another member of the My Life As A Freshman project (I think I won but don’t tell him that); and a huge inflatable Twister board!

 I would definitely say my first Oktoberfest experience was a success. I had so much fun volunteering in the HSA booth; taking pictures with my friends and Daniel at the free photo booth; buying some cool things; eating good food; and listening to the live performances. It was a blast!

No matter what year you’re in in college or if you’re just visiting Longwood, I would highly recommend you enjoy all of the Oktoberfest festivities!

Note: Heather submitted this entry soon after Oktoberfest. This late posting is due to an oversight by the blog administrator.

I’ll start by apologizing for not posting in so long. It’s been a wild and overwhelming two months, and it was hard to find a time to write. However, the first semester is coming to a close, and I am so relieved. From playing club basketball to having write a 10-page paper my first semester, there has been a lot of stress and time consumption.

Even with everything going on, my roommate and suitemate got in the holiday spirit by buying and decorating a tree. We also bought each other gifts that we put under the tree before we gave them to each other, so it was like a real Christmas. My roommate and I also went with some of our friends to Buffalo Wild Wings for a “Friendsmas” with some of our friends who live on the same floor—even in the midst of exams.

We love the new University Center, Upchurch, as a place to study and hang out. We thought at first that it would just be a fun place to be, but we actually really enjoy doing homework there, too, even when we were studying for finals. I had actually never been there to study until I had torn my meniscus during basketball.

This semester has been a wild ride—full of ups, downs and even an injury that gave me a pretty good scare. Even with all that, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I have met so many people, made so many friends, and done so much that it’s crazy to think it’s only been one semester.

This semester has been great, but I can’t wait to see what’s ahead.

(This post was inadvertently not posted when Brooklynn submitted it—but it’s too good to leave out.)

Move-in day was emotional for me. It hit me that I was stepping into a whole new territory and leaving my family and friends back home—and my dogs. My older brother, Davis, went to Longwood and graduated last year. I am a triplet, and my two other brothers are at University of Lynchburg and Roanoke College.

I am excited for this opportunity and new experience/chapter of my life. Getting my dorm all set up and decorated was a long process. My roommate, Ashley King, and I went to middle school together. Ashley is so caring, kind and funny. I am so glad I have her as my roommate. We keep each other motivated, and we make time to get our work done plus have fun. Going through this new experience together has been awesome so far.

New Lancer Days did a great job of keeping me entertained and focused on what was happening here and not what I was missing at home. Cory Craig, a motivational speaker and actor, came to talk to us. He gave me great advice to remember throughout my college years and life in general.

At the Honor and Integrity Ceremony, it was cool to see all the professors and President Reveley in their fancy gowns. It gave me a feeling of reality that I am now a college student at Longwood and that I have to uphold the values and responsibilities of this great university. I believe the honor code ceremony really shows how important and serious it is here.

After three days of important talks and awesome entertainment and activities, it was time to start classes. I was nervous about not being able to find my classes the first day. Peer mentors did a guided class building tour and helped me find my classes, so I knew where to go and how long it took to get to each building. Even though I am starting out on this new journey alone, that is not the environment here at Longwood. Everyone is so kind, friendly and supportive. The first day of class it poured. My class is all the way on the other side of D-hall, and an upperclassman gave me a ride to D-hall so I didn’t have to walk in the rain.

It has only been a week since I moved in, and I have met so many awesome people already! Yesterday was First Friday Back, and one of Longwood’s many traditions is The G.A.M.E. It was neat to get the scarf every upperclassman has told me about. It was a cool feeling to experience the first tradition of the year as a freshman.

I had been waiting for the new Upchurch University Center to open, just like everyone else. It was so awesome that it opened when we came back for fall break.

I absolutely love the new Upchurch Center. It is such a great addition to Longwood’s campus. I love that we have a Starbucks and that that they accept gift cards, so I don’t spend all my bonus dollars all at one place. As midterms have been happening and this is the time in the semester when there are so many different assignments due at the same time, coffee is great!

Au Bon Pain is nice—it is just like Panera! Now that it has started to get cold outside, I really like how they have so many soups/stews to pick from. They change the flavors daily.

The new center is also a place where I can hang out with friends and study.

As soon as I was accepted to Longwood, I was so excited to experience all the traditions of this special school. So I was super excited to kick off Oktoberfest weekend with Color Wars! It was a blast—such a fun event with so much positive energy and spirit. I am glad I wore sunglasses! (It’s not fun getting paint in your eyes!) Because they have an even-number graduation year (2022) freshmen this year are a red class.

Saturday of Oktoberfest was the best day here for me so far. I love country music, and concerts are my favorite thing to go to. So my favorite part of Oktoberfest was that Chris Lane came and put on an amazing show. Not only is he a great singer, he also is a great performer! He knows how to engage with the audience very well. It was such a great way to de-stress from classes.

It is so crazy that Oktoberfest  marks the halfway point of the fall semester. The days are slow but the weeks just keep flying by!

Being able to get into the swing of classes hasn’t really been hard for me. I’ve just been struggling with taking time to manage my assignments and my social life.

I have definitely fallen in love with all of my classes and professors. They have given me so much insight and have encouraged me to get organized.

I also enjoy hanging out with friends and getting involved with stuff happening on campus. Since the second week of classes, I have been planning out my day on a white board—that way I never forget an assignment, test, paper or even a social event. It’s little things like that help with time management.

I find that it is easy to forget stuff and completely fall behind. So I would advise you to write it ALL down in a planner or on a white board like me.