Freshman Blog: First semester exceeds expectations

By Brittany Achilles

Although Thanksgiving break flew by, these next 10 days will go by even faster. Fall semester classes end on Dec. 10. In 10 days, there will be no more 8 a.m. or night classes. The only thing that we will have to worry about is studying for the final exams. Woo hoo!
I am especially excited, because I will have completed my first semester as a college freshman. Coming in with 12 credits, I will officially be a sophomore once I’m finished finals. This semester I have declared my major and minors, along with getting two jobs on campus and keeping my grades up. Although I will be coming out of school with debt from student loans, it is all worth it. I have had a wonderful first semester so far.
In these final days, I have gotten accustomed to Rider life, such as the “delicious” Daly’s food and “extravagant” dorms. The professors and workload were not what I had expected. I thought that I was going to be bombarded with work, and that professors would be extremely difficult and would not care about students’ needs. But that wasn’t the case at all.
Hopefully next semester and the years to follow will have a similar workload and the same kind of teachers as my first semester. It is sad to see the end the semester because the fact that we are growing up and becoming adults is more real than ever. If you did not pick up the necessary study and time management skills yet, you will be at a disadvantage for the rest of your career here at Rider.
Now it is just “the waiting game” until school ends. Some students are probably not excited because they will be bored back home. Others, however, might have jobs or vacation plans to look forward to. I am one of the “others” that has a job back home. I am sad to leave though because I love it here. However, it will be nice to not have any schoolwork and to be able to relax.
Every student, especially the seniors and freshmen, need to be able to reflect during these last 10 days. This time marks the coming of an end to some and the start of a bright future to others. By reflecting, we can learn about what we need to improve on and what we have already accomplished.