So, here we are, at the end of the semester and, in my case, the end of my first semester here at college. I have to admit I’ve had a pretty tough semester, not academically, but emotionally. That’s not to say I had no academic troubles! I had papers and papers to write that I put off because I didn’t know how to go about them or because I was just plain lazy. I had exams…well, I had precisely two exams that worried me like crazy, and those were for Psych of the Black Experience. In the end though, my experiences with good ol’ IB always saved me because they reminded me how to write essays (especially how to write four in a two-and-a-half-hour period–oh, Psych of the Black Experience, how you torture me). Theater, ID1, and Cognitive Psych were challenging enough, but not difficult, so I really only had a tough time with one class, which I think is a fortunate load to have my first semester.
What was really difficult for me was adjusting to, well, everything. Even though I have a single, I never got too lonely because everyone in my sponsor group was just a holler away. But, like every other freshman, I had trouble being away from the friends I knew so well. It also took me some time to adjust to the liberal mindset we have at the school. I was a little taken aback by the gender neutral bathrooms and talk of PGPs, but now it all seems pretty natural to me. When I had my boyfriend and my friend Maya visit, I remembered that I had to explain all of these things to them, because they don’t really exist in Miami! I think Pomona College did what it’s supposed to do to every student though: take them out of their comfort zones and teach them about new ways of life without making them feel like they have to change their existing way of living. So in other words: good job, Pomona!
So now that I’ve spent an entire semester at college, I know that leaving home won’t be as difficult as it was the first time–even though it will be for four months again–because I know what I’m coming back to. I’m sure coming back after the summer will be hard because I won’t have any idea what’s in store for living here during sophomore year, but knowing that I’m coming back to my sponsor group and my great room at Mudd 1 Back will be comforting. Sure, I won’t know what’s in store for me in terms of my classes, but at least I know that if I really don’t like them, I have until February to drop them! Most importantly though, when I come back, I’ll know that it is possible to live away from everything and everyone at home for four months and survive, and that, I think, is the most comforting thing to know.