This is fo real.

When I was in 8th grade I had a blog.  Until this week I had completely forgotten about this blog and all of the embarrassing things that a blog from year 13 encompasses.   So I do believe that my Blogger account is under the very internet safe and identity-guarding name of "Miss A."   My grandmother is the only person who still calls me that.  Although I spent a few hours poking around on Blogger to figure out some way to change that username to something more grown up, like my actual name, I couldn't figure out how to do it.  At this point I suppose I just have to embrace it.

At this point I also just have to embrace that I'm in college.  It's hard for me to come to terms with the fact that the thing I've been planning on happening for years is actually happening.  The goal has been reached, I graduated from high school and now I'm on a university campus trying to learn more stuff. It's hard to imagine that the future has become the present.

College, so far, has been much easier than it was made out to be.  Everyone told me it'd be scary and the professors would be mean and hold no regard for their students.  I was under the impression I was going to be writing a paper every night, slaving away on a report or an essay.  It seemed hellish and impossible.  But up to this point college has proved to be rather tame, compared to my previous expectations.  The part that has been the most difficult for me to get over is just the fact that we're actually here.  I lose myself in the lectures but in moments of distraction I glance around at the other faces in the room and realize that I don't recognize a single one.  I remember that I'm not at Centennial High School any longer.  I've officially started the first leg of my adult life.  It's crazy to think about.

Ashley Bates

you can do this

As the first week of this semester comes to a close, I can't help but think about how daunting this semester seems (at least for me). While I am a sophomore and don't have the same first year jitters that I did last year, I still get worried about how school will end up. When I start to get overwhelmed and worry about how this year will be, I remember that with my personality, I thrive being busy. Balancing 18 credits, my sorority, and work seems like too much and that I can’t handle it, but then I try to remember that I CAN.

If I were to give advice to freshman, I would say that you CAN do this. It seems scary and overwhelming and you wonder how you will ever keep your grades where you want them when you are already staying up so late to do homework and waking up the next morning feeling like you never went to sleep. The stress of grades will take over your life but try not to let it. As honors students, we enjoy the challenge and feeling like we conquered something. Every semester will feel that way to you. You will look back and be so proud of yourself and the work you did. College isn’t for everyone and even the ones that are here won’t all succeed. As you go through your classes and meet more people, you will see it.

Just remember that you CAN handle this and you are here for a reason. Feel proud of yourself and think how great it will feel when you get to look back on your first semester and be so proud of what you did. I know that in my experience, that feeling makes it all worth it. 

Boise State for Beginners

I am from a town of 8000, a county of 20000 and a graduating class of 132 people. Although I was excited for a change, 22000 students was very daunting for me. Living in, or close to, an urban setting has been a big change for me. Even the small things that most people would not think of like, that I actually have to lock my room and my bike. Believe it or not, where I am from most residents do not even lock their houses. Or even as I sit in the library writing this, is it okay to leave my computer for five minutes as I use the restroom? Although these probably all seem like silly things to most people who have lived in this type of setting all their lives, it is all very new for me.
In addition to be in a new city, I am in the process of making friends. This is something that many other students can relate to during their first week of their freshman year. I am part of the Health Professions Living Learning Community, which has been so helpful for meeting new people, having others to do new activities with, and getting to know the area. When I applied for my living learning community, I was not entirely certain of what it was, I just knew that I wanted to live in that residence hall. But now that I am one week into college, I am so happy that I looked into the different living options and choose to be apart of this group.
As Jo mentioned in her blog post, she was having trouble getting used to the schedule. I would have to agree with her because, I too like to have a set schedule that is uniform for each day. I will have to get used to having a different schedule for each day. It is very nice to have the breaks in between my classes now, but I will have to put these into my daily schedule. Even with all of these changes, I am still content with my choice of Boise State. The campus and city feels right for me.

College is definitely not what I thought it was!

Hopefully I am not the only one who has had this thought this week.

I guess I am not really sure what I expected college to be like. I wasn't expecting parties every night or anything like what the media often portrays, but it is still different. For example, my parents constantly talked about lecture halls and how you would be sitting in the same room with 300 people. I have one class that is similar, and that is my UF 100 class. However, there are only about 150 people in that class, hardly the frightening 300 people that my parents turned into horror stories. 

It's only the first week of school and I am already getting less sleep than I thought I would. I don' really mind, but I was not expecting that. I have not been overloaded with homework yet, for which I am grateful, but having an irregular schedule is definitely something different for me. I like to think of myself as an organized person who enjoys routines and schedules. Having different classes with different starting times each day is a change for me, one that I am not quite sure I enjoy yet.

Overall, I have been really surprised. I have learned that I love college more than I thought I would and I am so excited to dive right in. Hopefully the rest of you feel that same way! 

Why blog this semester?

Why Blog?

You'll be keeping a weekly blog on this group site this semester, writing about your experience in the course, responding to readings, exploring what you find interesting and challenging about writing, and responding to each others' posts.  You blog is a major assignment in 112. It's fair to ask, then, why is it so important?

The purpose of the blogs this semester is three-fold:

1.     Metacognitive.  I’ll be encouraging you to write about what you’re learning in the course and about yourself as a writer, what problems you’re having with the work and how you’re trying to solve those problems.  Why do this?  The overwhelming evidence on learning suggests that when you think about how you approach a process like writing, the more control you get over that process and the more likely you are to transfer what you learn to other situations
2. Dialogue.  Through these blogs, we can extend our conversations about writing outside of class. This is especially important in a writing course because composing is such a complex and idiosyncratic activity.  There aren't rules or formulas to follow, only choices to consider.  Our conversations with each surface these choices.
3.   Personal.  Your blog is a way to take what we’re learning together and explore it’s personal relevance.  This genre is very essayistic; that is, it encourages exploration, tentativeness, and risk. You don't have to know what you want to say before you say it.  On the contrary, it's often better if you don't.