Personal Essay Example - An Aspect of College I Found Disappointing

The most exciting thing for the majority of teens is finishing high school and joining college. In high school, I had many perceptions regarding college life and could not wait to graduate from high school. My older friends who were in college would give me exciting stories and experiences in college, I would see them enjoying themselves, and the most interesting part of it was the freedom they had in college, this gave me more reasons to desire to join college. However, I never expected any unexpected moments in college based on what I heard from my friends.

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The year 1993 is when I graduated from high school; Louisiana State University (LSU) offered me a full music scholarship to attend their school. I thought the college experience was going to be a nonstop party and playing in the band at football games. However, when classes began, I began to realize college was not full-time fun place because there was a huge amount of coursework to work on and I was not prepared, this was a disappointing aspect in college.

During the registration time for particular units in my course, I was confused on which ones to choose because I had not done a research on what my course entailed, this shows I was not prepared to study, my mind was set on having fun in college more than reading. I had to find an advisor to help me out. The advisor at LSU assisted me in developing an academic plan, including a suggested class schedule for the first term. When registration began, I enrolled in the following courses; college composition I, algebra, symphonic band, and piano. The total number of class hours I took for the first term completed 12 hours, the minimum number of hours for a full-time student. In addition to the full course load, I was required to participate in the university marching band. I felt this was much more complex for me compared to when I was in high school. To my comparison, high school was way better than college. I felt this was disappointing because I was unprepared for the load work in school.

After the first week of classes ended, I was overwhelmed. Between multiple papers that were due, finding time to practice the piano and trombone, on top of marching band practices, it became too much to handle. Despite having guidance from my advisor and my seniors, I felt this was a burden to me. I was so disappointed in myself. I attempted to stay up late during the night and study, but that proved to be a losing battle, especially during football season. This was the most challenging period of the semester. When I tried to concentrate on my homework and notes, I was destructed by football matches and parties by my friends. I found it easier to go out and have fun than to concentrate on my studies. I traveled to many places with my friends to watch matches and party. To solve this, I had to cut off my friends and stay in my room. During the night when I was alone I would meditate and conclude this is the most disappointing thing about college, I was not prepared for this kind of experience.

A good example is waking up early in the morning to attend music practice sessions. I was not able to attend my training sessions because I used to sleep late at night because of parties and drinking. At this point, things were getting worse for me.

During the semester, I stopped going to my English and Algebra class. My professors in those particular courses sent me an academic warning notice to my campus inbox. Additionally, I consciously neglected seeking help academically from the student services provided by the school or request the assistance from my friends there. On a brighter note, I completed the music courses that I was enrolled in, but the damage academically was already done. By the end of the semester, I turned down my scholarship and decided to leave LSU and return home.

After I had returned home, I enrolled at Polk Community College (PCC). During my time at PCC, I developed good study habits and effective time management skills that I lacked at LSU. In hindsight, I was not prepared to be successful in college. Admittedly, I was undisciplined and immature at this particular time in my life. The amount of coursework and time involved was overwhelming; the fact that I was not well prepared made it more complicated for me. This was the most disappointing aspect of College Life.