Month: December 2023

The halfway point of my first semester of college is already upon me and I can’t help feeling conflicted. The first few weeks of college was definitely an adjustment . That being said, my experience so far has been an absolute blast. I have made many friends, connections and memories that I know will stay with me long after I graduate. Academically I am very proud of myself and performance up until this point in the semester. The science courses I am enrolled in as a biology major are, without a doubt, especially challenging and require an exceeding amount of my time. They do pique my interest and I find the topics that are taught very interesting, which makes it a lot easier to be engaged during lectures and while studying. When looking at where I am at this point in the semester, I can honestly say that I am on track to achieve the goals that I set for myself before it began. 

As I previously mentioned, my short time in college has gone pretty well. One of my best friends from home and I both decided on Geneseo and to be roommates. Throughout the first week or two, we did a lot together and while we met a lot of people in a variety of ways, we didn’t form any new genuine friendships. It took some time, but eventually, we both began forming relationships. We still hang out on a daily basis but have our own groups as well as mutual friends. Unfortunately, the season ended, but I joined an intramural soccer team with some friends and that was a lot of fun while it lasted. We plan to play again next semester in the spring with the same team. I just spoke to some friends from my floor recently about playing intramural broomball. We have all heard about how much people love it. That was the only organization I have joined thus far, I am currently searching for clubs that pique my interest to join next semester. I wanted to wait to see what my schedule was like and adjust to college life before I committed to anything. Geneseo was, without a doubt, a great choice for me personally and I truly enjoy spending my time here.

My writing course, Theatre: A Therapy for Veterans, has been very enjoyable so far. I have members of my family who have served in the United States military, which makes this topic hit particularly close to home. Another aspect of the course I enjoy is writing, it’s a form of expression for me and it feels great when the words just start flowing onto the page. The presentation Professor Arena did on her experience in the military was amazing to hear and I appreciate her doing that as it is obviously a tremendously difficult thing to do. Her explanation of how the military can change you as a person was very eye-opening and it helped me better understand the emotions that members of my family have to deal with and process on a daily basis as well.

This semester, I have worked ridiculously hard and have been achieving my goals. In my science courses, the class average on exams has been extremely low, but I have been doing consistently better than the average score. I am very proud of myself for this because it lets me know that the sacrifices of spending countless hours in the study room and library are paying off. I hope to continue this throughout the rest of the semester and all through college. I will definitely face many challenges in my quest of achieving decent grades, but I am confident in my abilities. In this course, Theatre: A Therapy for Veterans, I am thrilled with my performance thus far. Writing, while I don’t mind doing it, is challenging for me. It has never been my strong suit, but I believe this class will help me hone my skills.

Continuing on in my college career is something I am hugely excited about and that I am very grateful for. My courses will most likely continue to get progressively more difficult and finals are something I am definitely not looking forward to. Outside of my academic life, I couldn’t be happier. It’s a privilege to be able to hang out with my friends on a daily basis.

Hopefully, I can find some organizations that I want to join by the start of next semester. There is such a wide variety of clubs for people with all interests. If I look far enough, I’m sure I’ll find at least one. Despite not being a student at SUNY Geneseo, I have loved it and the future is looking very bright.

My name is Jacob, I’m an eighteen-year-old from Long Island, New York and I recently began college life at Suny Geneseo. The first few weeks I have been here could only be described as an absolute blast. I have already formed new memories that I know will last a lifetime. I enrolled as a Biology major on the Pre-Physicians assistant track and am taking fifteen credits this semester. My courses will get harder as the semester progresses, but up until this point they have not been overly challenging. The science courses I am taking peak my interest which makes it a lot easier for me to be engaged during class time as well as studying. Upperclassmen I have met who have a similar major have said that Biology is extremely tough and time-consuming, which is a bit discouraging, but I knew it wouldn’t be an easy major when I decided on it.

 The biggest challenge I have faced thus far is navigating the software Brightspace and Achieve. It is entirely unfamiliar to me and it is difficult to understand where my assignments are between the platforms, within folders and behind links. The workload that I receive weekly is also exponentially more than what I had in high school. To adjust to this change, my time management needs to be improved and I hope to develop better study habits that can contribute to better managing my time.

This course, writing: Theatre: A Therapy for Veterans has been very enjoyable so far. I can honestly say that I don’t mind writing and find it relaxing when the words start flowing onto the paper. I believe that this course will help me hone my writing skills and that these skills will be applicable to most classes I take in the future. Areas of my writing could definitely use improvement, such as punctuation and grammar, as in high school, I would commonly lose points on assignments based on these criteria. Out of the readings we have done up until this point, I can’t honestly say that I have related to any of them, as nothing I have experienced has been similar to the experiences expressed in the readings. I have made connections between them. That being said, I have learned a lot from all of the readings and the articles on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which have broadened my perspective on this topic. 

The prologue of The Theatre of War by Bryan Doerries has really resonated with me because the author channeled the unfathomable pain of losing his girlfriend to a debilitating disease by sharing a story from over two thousand years ago with others who are facing challenges through a very different yet similar form in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. 

He explained that ancient literature helped him through the tough times following his life’s biggest tragedy and let him know he was not alone in facing his problems. The story he shares is called Ajax and was written by Sophocles in ancient Greece. It depicts the life of a soldier who, after losing his best friend Achilles and not being passed down his armor, flys into a blind rage. The main question this posed to Bryan was why it was written. He then shared the play with soldiers worldwide searching for this answer and received thousands of responses. What is believed to be the reason Sophocles wrote the story was that, being a veteran of war himself, he wanted to let others who witnessed and experienced war know that they were not alone in dealing with the problems it caused them after the fact.

Self-motivation is a necessity that is vital to thriving in every aspect of college life. Once I began to live on my own at college there was no one there to make sure I was doing the right things and I was faced with the task of holding myself accountable. It’s very easy to skip out on things here, it might be staying in and not going out with friends or procrastinating work until the last minute. The expectations I have set for myself this semester are very high, I hope to earn all A’s and B’s. This will be easier in some classes than others but by holding myself accountable for my actions and never skipping out on studying or any other aspect of my academics these goals can be achieved. Socially I am doing very well, the friends that joined in coming here have remained very close and the new people I have met are a great addition to my life. There are many organizations on campus that I am considering joining, my schedule right now is still relatively busy so I am probably going to wait till next semester when I am more acclimated to college life. Although it has only been a month, my time here so far has been very well spent and the future is looking very bright.