August 13, 2011 at exactly 4pm I packed my bags into the car and said goodbye to the only place that I have really ever known Brooklyn, NY and headed for Washington D.C a place that will forever change my life, where my dreams will finally take shape and start to become reality. To be honest as I left for Howard University I didn’t have much expectations or emotions running through my body. To me it just felt like another road trip with the family, as if in a week or so I would be right back in my house surrounded by my pink walls counting the days til my independence from my parents. My parents continued to ask me if I was excited to finally be free, to have experiences that I have never encountered before, to finally do my own laundry , of course my answer was yes but yet there was no excitement behind it. That completely changed as my father’s car turned the corner and I saw the huge sign greeting my class as well as myself to the “Real HU”, “The Mecca” Howard University and I realized that I made it, and I am now the student of one of the most prestigious schools in our country.
There are only two words that I know how to explain my first week at Howard, “an experience”. From the lonely feeling that immediately hit me when my mother hugged me goodbye in a place where I knew nothing, to the elated feeling that I had when I finally met my fellow classmates I think that I have experience every feeling known to man in a series of 7 days. These two weeks have been filled with many first time experiences some for the good and some for the bad. I experienced truly being on my own and being independent from my parents, two old school Jamaicans who have been overprotective over me all of my. I’ve experience waking up every morning to a bowl of cereal instead of the smell of my mother making me breakfast downstairs in the kitchen. I experienced my first college party and staying out late without my mother calling every second telling me to come home. I’ve experienced the different personalities of people from all over the country as well as their strong accents. I could go on and on about the many experiences that I have encountered like experiencing my first earthquake or fire drill at 1’oclock in the morning but I think the experience that has the most impact on me is my first week of classes.
When people told me back home to work hard because college is not like high school I always brushed it off. It’s not that I didn’t care about the advice that I was being given but I knew that with my ambition college would not be a problem for me and I would breeze through it just like high school. Man was I mistaken! As I read the syllabus I knew that my studying habits would have to change. No longer could I put off reading chapters and assignments because professor’s here do not care if you are a procrastinator and will continue to assign to chapters to read every day. These classes especially Chemistry and Biology are really fast pace and I must work hard in order to receive a good grade. I realized that the second day and that is permanently etched in my brain. I must stay one step ahead and never be the student always trying to catch up, college will swallow me up whole if I do. I must remember that success comes to those who work hard, it is earned not given
To be honest I did not have any expectations for Freshman Seminar. All I knew about this class was that freshmen are mandated to take this class under graduation requirements other than that I was clueless as to what the course entailed. However like every class I walked into the classroom with an open mind and ready to learn. As the speaker went through the course syllabus I was most intrigued about Omoluabi: self-actualization and communal responsibility. Being a person that has always been involved in my community I think that this topic will further enlighten me and encourage me to give back to my community.
After my first Freshman Seminar class I am excited to go back and learn from the many interesting topics that were explained to us. I am eager to learn how “scholars across various fields of study have advanced and transformed academic knowledge related to enduring problems of the human condition.” I think the this class will be very helpful for me as a student at Howard University because not only will I learn the great history of this magnificent school but I know that it will further motivate me to add onto Howard University’s legacy and to reach my full potential and even go beyond it just like many students have before me.
