By Qristine Owusu, Health Professions Peer Ambassador
I thought transitioning from high school to college was going to be a simple walk in the park. It turns out it’s basically an obstacle course marathon. High school always had its great days, great grades, and even great mental state! After I graduated and walked into college, I had the same mindset as I had in high school. I would go to class, do the work that would be handed to me, take my aesthetic notes for class, and go back to my dormitory. Once back in my dorm, I would not lay one finger on a book to study for each class. Of course, I did the classwork and homework assignments because it was what would be graded right away and I knew in the back of my head that it would need to get done. Every time I would enter an exam I went in confidently because I knew I did my homework and went to class every day, but my grades said otherwise.
Seeing that I was not getting the results that I intended to get made me upset every time I would get my grades back. A few weeks after this continuously happening, I told myself that I needed to look for help or some type of advice for making a 360-degree turnaround. I attended meetings with mentors, study sessions for class, optional study sessions, and sometimes tutoring when it helped the most. It almost felt unreal because I was never doing this in high school. It seemed like my hand was being held and though hard to let go, ultimately doable.
As time went on I started to see some small improvements in everything I was doing for my courses, from homework and quizzes to even exams. Now that I know that it can’t be me just submitting assignments to get through, I ask for help every day, even if they feel like the craziest questions. I’ve learned that no question is stupid. I think the most important part of all this is knowing when to get help, even if it’s from your peers. People always tell me that since they aren’t doing well in their classes, they’ll start studying more. I always tell them not to try to get through college by themselves–it truly takes a village.
Qristine is a junior with a major in cognitive science. Click here to learn more about and connect with Qristine.