Portfolio Introduction

Elizabeth Bryan 

Deanna Tenorio 

Composition 1120 

1 May 2024 

Portfolio Introduction  

I always figured that my first semester of college would be the most stressful and difficult for me, especially because I was moving across the country by myself. To my surprise this second semester was a lot more stressful than last semester. My classes were harder than my classes last semester and halfway through this semester I had to drop my college algebra class for the second time. That was not an ideal situation for me because I already had to drop it previously, then scramble to find a random late starting course to keep fifteen credits. The classes aspect is always the hardest part of the beginning of the semester, simply because I don't know what to expect. I'd like to say they went better than I originally expected overall. 

It wasn't just my classes this semester that made everything more stressful than the last. It was also that I have been training a lot to try out for the cheerleading team this year. I have been cheerleading since I was five years old, but I thought I was going to be able to give up on cheerleading once I came to college. Needless to say, I was wrong and realized towards the end of last semester that not only did I want to cheer again, I needed to cheer again. So, with all of my classes going on, almost every day after class I went and practiced with the current cheerleaders to get myself prepared for tryouts. It was not easy to keep up with everything, but I care a lot about school and cheerleading so if I must be stressed out for a few months to accomplish my goals then I am happy to do it.  

Overall, I'd like to say this semester was a success for me. It is not over yet and I cannot fully celebrate this semester until all my grades are finalized but I think it was an accomplishment. So far It looks like I will be increasing my GPA, as well as having learned many new valuable skills to help me in my educational journey. In this class specifically I have learned how to properly do peer reviews since I never did them until now. I have also learned how to write longer essays than I have in the past. The research paper we wrote was the largest I had ever written, which scared me at first, but I ended up doing very well, which will help me for next time. I am very happy with the outcome of this semester and can successfully say that I survived my first year of college.