The weeks will fly by faster than you think. It doesn’t seem so long ago that I stepped on campus for orientation, anxiously anticipating the quarter to come. Sure, when you’re watching hours-long lectures, the seconds slowly crawl by. Despite your best efforts to ignore the clock (time always goes faster when you’re not paying attention to it), your eyes constantly flicker to your watch, making the minutes feel even longer. The end of the quarter might seem like an eternity away, but rest assured that the rhythm that you develop as you get accustomed to a college schedule will enable the weeks to dance by quickly.
Granted, the rapid pace of a ten-week quarter is a double-edged sword; as the end of the quarter draws near and the freedom of winter break comes closer to our reach, so does finals week, the cause of the impending doom that many students feel at this time of year. College exams may seem daunting, especially as a first-year student, but believe me when I say that they go better than expected. Your imagination may portray them as fearsome creatures that cannot possibly be slain, but remember that your exams are more afraid of you than you are of them.
In all seriousness, view finals week as merely the last of many hurdles you will jump over the course of these ten weeks. Surpassing these hurdles, whether as small as a weekly discussion post or as large as a final exam, will inevitably lead to positive growth and change. It may be difficult to detect these changes as you are going through them, but stepping back to realize the accomplishments you will make in such a short period of time can be eye-opening.
In addition to the quarter’s fast pace, you will be surprised by the quality of the instructors and lecturers in your classes. The way they coherently articulate the content taught will inspire awe in you. Their words will sink into your mind and provoke deep, complex thought. This is much different from how you felt in most high school classes, and you will cherish the high quality of education you are receiving. Fall 2021 is only the first quarter of our college career; there will be many more fascinating classes to take, experienced lecturers to listen to, and a diverse range of people to befriend.
Your friendly neighborhood Undeclared major,
Sabrina (your Week 10 self)