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| "The Fifth Plague of Egypt" (1800) by William Turner |
What would you say are the “Three Plagues” of high school seniors or first-year college students (comment on the experience that you’ve had most recently)?
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| "The Fifth Plague of Egypt" (1800) by William Turner |
I think the “three plagues” of first year college students are “feeling overwhelmed, loneliness, and exhaustion.”
ReplyDeleteI know I felt and overwhelmed facing college and being on my own for the first time. Not being a fan of writing, each paper was met with great dread. Having to be responsible for my own money and being on my own when I got sick were just a few instances where I felt very overwhelmed. Not knowing many people when I got to ECU and being away from my family made feeling lonely very easy. And the friends I did have, we would spend many nights together. Sometimes working on papers, sometimes working out, sometimes preventing an emotional crisis, and sometimes just goofing off. Many of these nights would last until one, two, three, four in the morning. At that time, it seemed almost pointless to go to sleep. This lead to quite a few all-nighters. Sometimes, the all-nighters came from procrastinating the assignments that required much more than a couple hours work (which I was guilty of more times than I would like to admit.)
But one distinct difference in the college plagues and the nursing home plagues is in college we have some control on how we let these things affect us. We are more capable to actively change our circumstances. We can work on time management to not become overwhelmed, prepare for illness to not feel so helpless, search out friends, make and keep plans with them to not feel so lonely, create rules for late night with friends that all parties agree on all of these things can help to fight the plagues without much, if any, help for others.
I definitely agree with Ashley's "Three Plagues" for college students!! Going in to my final year at ECU, I think I've decided that these "Three Plagues" never go away. But perhaps I've just gotten used to dealing with them. And perhaps it's the same occurrence at nursing homes: the "first-year nursing home residents" may feel these plagues either initially (until they learn how to get used to this new way of life) or indefinitely (if they give in).
DeleteI definitely can come to "terms with" your made up three plagues for high school seniors and upcoming college freshmen. Its hard to believe that I am going into my second year and if I am right you are too right? Well I definitely have felt all of these and many more. But I have enjoyed meeting new people more than anything else and I am fortunate that ECU gives us a open and accepting atmosphere full of different people from different backgrounds and nationalities. My three plagues would have to be procrastination, over-studying, and lack of sleep (haha).
DeleteYou're right on point, Ashley! I remember feeling these "Three Plagues" throughout my first year of college. I have also realized they seem to apply to many other times of monumental change.
DeleteThe three plagues I found most often in my first year of college were feeling overwhelmed, lack of guidance, and loss. Several of the classes I took my first semester not only threw me into the pool and told me to swim but made sure to tie concrete blocks to my feet first. I lost a lot of sleep and pushed myself to the point of sickness just to finish that first semester. Lack of guidance ties into the feeling of being overwhelmed in that I didn’t have a clear person to turn to when I needed. The feeling of loss I had was not due to deaths of family members, but to loss of things I had enjoyed in High School. I don’t play tennis as much as I used to, I’ve gained some weight, and I don’t have as much time for friends and family as I once did. All that being said, there was a lot I did enjoy my first semester that I was able to apply my second semester and I believe the pros did outweigh the cons in the end.
ReplyDeleteI can totally relate to you Dylan! I found my first semester very challenging as well. Not only because of the classes, but also from being away from home and learning to be independent. I had previously taken concurrent classes during high school. Yet, those classes only prepared me for a small portion of what I ended up experiencing. I had to balance the workload of five classes, make a schedule for food and the like, and adjust to living with a roommate. Oh! I definitely know what you mean with the weight gain!
DeleteI experienced a couple of serious mental melt downs and a couple of prcrastinations on my part. I cannot stand it when I do wait till last minute to finish work and assignments/ papers and by managing my time better my first year. I have developed a better sense of time and organized schedules in which I would do those assignments and papers. The biggest problem would have to be procrastination and at times it does motivate me but its more of a burden than anything else.
DeleteI can definitely relate to the overwhelmed part. Although most of the time I was able to keep a handle on things, there were a few times throughout my first semester where different significant assignments for classes would stack up. When that happened, I would have trouble deciding what to finish first, and would eventually end up getting nothing at all done, which would then further compound the problem (in addition to giving me a sense of wasted time where I could have at least been doing something fun).
DeleteI would say the three plagues of being a high school senior are lack of focus, pressure, and confusion. When I got to my senior year in high school, I found it difficult to focus and put as much effort into my schoolwork as I had in the previous years. In my English class, almost everyone would be procrastinating their assignments. Many people call this “senioritis”. It is so difficult to put all of your attention on school when your mind is on so many other things, such as college. It seems like halfway through the semester there was, all of the sudden, a huge pressure of choosing a major and applying for scholarships. My school did not prepare us to choose a college. The majority of my senior class showed up to the college fair answering “undecided” when asked what their major was. The first semester of my senior year was very calm and relaxed. When we returned from Christmas break, however, there were application deadlines, scholarship interviews, and many questions about what I was doing with my future. I was not prepared for all of this at once.
ReplyDeleteI would say that my “three plagues” that existed during senior year were “lack of appreciation, cluelessness, and decision making.” I feel like I’m probably not alone when I say that I sometimes failed to truly appreciate some of the most important moments of senior year. Someday I am going to wish that I had taken the time to savor every second of the last part of high school. In regards to cluelessness: Am I the only one who had no idea how difficult it is to fill out college applications, write countless scholarship essays, or give an address to the Rotary Club after being presented with award? I feel like there should be a mandatory class junior year that teaches you all about those things, because it was quite overwhelming to do while working and keeping good grades! Finally, “decision making” I would say that is the hardest plague to deal with of the three. You literally spend your whole life up until graduation trying to finish school, so that you can decide what to do with your life. However you forget that when that day comes you actually have to make a decision. Not just one though, you have to choose do I go to college? Which college do I go to? What do I major in? It is really hard due to the fact that whatever you decide will affect the rest of your life! Especially if you’re an indecisive individual like myself! However, unlike most nursing home patients, I am able to make my own choices and that means if I am unhappy with a decision I can alter it and readjust whereas they more than likely are unable to.
ReplyDeleteI would say that the three plagues of high school seniors are stress, apprehension, and pressure. Coming from a small school I was a leader in several extra curricular activities. As one of the most experienced students in the club or on the team I felt the immense pressure to perform well. I wanted to achieve the expectations of every teacher and coach, and go above them. This pressure to perform well was stressful, but was eventually outranked by the apprehension of graduation. After planning what I was going to do after for college for four years I was suddenly beginning to doubt myself. What if my major is too difficult, or I don't like my dorm? However, the startling amounts of apprehension did not keep the date from arriving, and eventually a decision had to be made. I came to the conclusion that I could always change my path if I didn't like the direction it was headed.
ReplyDeleteI would definitely say the three plagues of a first-year college student are feeling overwhelmed, lost, and even helpless. In high school, I never had many worries. My classes were pretty much picked for me and everyone took the same thing. Beginning with college enrollment, though, I've felt pretty helpless with everything. Having to pick the one thing I want to base the rest of my life on was big enough without all the little details like paying for college, getting housing or making sure I picked the right classes and didn't really mess up. It really feels like just the other day I was in middle school, and everyone was telling me I had a lot of time left to figure out what I wanted to do with my life and all of a sudden here we are and those decisions became a reality. I'm constantly worried that I've picked the wrong major and will end up wasting a year or more going to school for the completely wrong thing and I'll regret it later. Before, I always still had time to figure everything out, but now it's become reality and I feel a little helpless now and then.
ReplyDeleteKyle Bailey
I feel like the three plagues of high school seniors are confusion, tiredness, and pressure. There is all this confusion trying to get things together and decided if college is right for you or if you need to take a year off, or even just jump straight into the work force. Then it seems like you are continuously tired from all the work you're doing. Even all the good times can't stop you from wanting to sleep from 6pm to 12 pm the next day. Finally we have the pressure. Everyone is judging every choice you make and it seems like you will never finish.
ReplyDelete-Lauren Tucker