Semester Reflections

Semester 1

The reality of University life was so different from what I envisioned. I have been loving UMD and everything about it so far. I have met so many lovely people in such a short amount of time, and I already feel at home. My biggest accomplishment has been getting adjusted. With that, I have learned how to adapt to academics, balance school, and social life, and how to get involved on campus. Considering the workload overall, I had no idea what it would be like coming into college. It has been the most difficult part of college because how college classes function is vastly different from how they function in high school. It was a big learning block but I figured out what I needed to do in order to succeed, which I am glad to say. I have learned a lot from my classes, and that is all I truly wished for. Although I have not 100% gotten my flow in terms of studying and learning, I am slowly getting there. From what I have learned, such as time management skills, I would like to transfer it to the next semester. I hope to acquire a lot more skills to prepare me for future semesters in college. The most thought-provoking thing I learned through art scholars is the wicked questions. It makes you think deeply about the logistics and minds of the world, and I had a fun time trying to answer the questions. I realized how many people can interpret wicked questions in various different ways, and I have come to accept all of them. With this, I would like to talk about my artwork. I made a visual art, specifically a sketch. In answering the wicked question, "How can the arts form compassion and empathy?", I drew a globe with different-minded people sharing the love of music. I threw in some contrasts with people who seemed to think other music was better, or that the opinions of one person were not always the same as their neighbors. The biggest challenge I have faced would be getting adjusted to exam seasons. I have improved on this a lot but I am still figuring things out. Due to high school coursework being a full year, I did not expect the quick pace college went at. However, I worked on my time management skills to level things out, which helped in that moment. All the events art scholars hosted have taught me about the value of embracing discomfort in the learning process. There were ideas that I did not agree with which I had to come to terms with, however, I realized that this is important to understanding the broader context and to emphasize with others. I actually did not have any expectations coming into the semester, so it is difficult to compare "expectations vs. reality". Rather, I have learned so much through art scholars and am so happy with the skills I have acquired. I am grateful for the great people within art scholars and the amazing professors. I am excited for what next semester will entail, and I am looking forward to learning new things!