500 words

Dear sophie, 

My first semester of college is pretty much at an end and I wanted to tell you about my experience so far. The things I was worrying about before coming to college compared to what I’m worrying about now have changed drastically. The few months leading up to college, my main worries were if I was going to over pack or if I wasn’t going to pack enough. Also during this time my main priority was how I was going to decorate my room and how well I was going to get along with my roommates. Surprisingly enough I wasn’t scared about my classes but I was still nervous since the only classes I’ve known for the past 4 years were highschool classes. The few weeks leading up to moving in I was definitely more anxious. I wasn’t fully processing the fact I was going to college until these few last weeks. My worries were still the same but there was the thought in my mind about how my life was going to change completely once I moved in. Along with the only classes I’ve known were highschool classes, the only people I’ve known were people in my town who I’ve known my whole life. Going to a whole new place with new people in an unfamiliar environment was a scary thought in my mind. Although this was a scary thought I was ready to start a new phase in my life. Once the day finally came to move in, I was super nervous but excited especially to meet my roommates. We didn’t meet in person until the day we moved in so I didn’t know what to expect but to my surprise we instantly bonded. We didn’t fully unpack and finish decorating our room until the next day. We spent most of our time talking and getting to know one another and we also played a game on the first night which we still talk about to this day. 

 The first few days were orientation, and my biggest struggle was learning where everything was on campus. These first few days I thought I wasn’t going to remember where my classes were or how to find them. Looking back at this time I was so worried, but I did end up adjusting quickly. For the first few weeks everything was an adjustment; Learning where all my classes were, going to the dining hall and living in the dorms. Growing up I had an older brother and I never had to share a room with anyone before, except when I would have sleepovers with my friends or if I was on vacation. Being in a small dorm with two other people was definitely an adjustment, but it was fairly easy since we do get along so well. Although there are things that occur and come up that we have to work through, we rarely run into problems that make it hard to live with one another. Within those first few weeks of being here we also formed good relationships with people that live on the same floor as us. We soon established a friend group, along with a few friends that lived in another dorm.

1000 words

Dear sophie, 

My first semester of college is pretty much at an end and I wanted to tell you about my experience so far. The things I was worrying about before coming to college compared to what I’m worrying about now have changed drastically. The few months leading up to college, my main worries were if I was going to over pack or if I wasn’t going to pack enough. Also during this time my main priority was how I was going to decorate my room and how well I was going to get along with my roommates. Surprisingly enough I wasn’t scared about my classes but I was still nervous since the only classes I’ve known for the past 4 years were highschool classes. The few weeks leading up to moving in I was definitely more anxious. I didn’t fully process the fact I was going to college until those few last weeks. My worries were still the same but there was the thought in my mind about how my life was going to change completely once I moved in. Along with the only classes I’ve known were highschool classes, the only people I’ve known were people in my town who I’ve known my whole life. Especially growing up in a small town there were only a few people I had to get to know that I didn’t already know my whole life. Going to a whole new place with new people in an unfamiliar environment was a scary thought in my mind. Although this was a scary thought I was ready to start this new phase in my life and see what I was going to learn and explore about myself. Once the day finally came to move in, I was super nervous but excited especially to meet my roommates. We didn’t meet in person until the day we moved in so I didn’t know what to expect but to my surprise we instantly bonded. We didn’t fully unpack and finish decorating our room until the next day. We spent most of our time talking and getting to know one another and we also played a game on the first night which we still talk about to this day. Getting along so well with my roommates was a relief of stress and gave me one less thing to worry about.

 The first few days were orientation and my biggest struggle was learning where everything was on campus. These first few days I thought I wasn’t going to remember where my classes were or how to find them. Looking back at this time I was so worried but I did end up adjusting quickly. After our first official full week of classes I was able to put together how my days would look. During this first week my roommates and I decided we were going to go home for the weekend to visit our families. Going home for the first time was definitely a reliving experience for me. Being able to go back to a familiar place after being away was definitely something to look forward to, although I was excited to go back once I was home. reflecting  over those first few weeks everything was an adjustment; Learning where all my classes were, going to the dining hall and living in the dorms. Growing up I had an older brother and I never had to share a room with anyone before, except when I would have sleepovers with my friends or if I was on vacation. Being in a small dorm with two other people was definitely an adjustment, but it was fairly easy since we do get along so well. Although there are things that occur and come up that we have to work through, we rarely run into problems that make it hard to live with one another. Within those first few weeks of being here we also formed good relationships with people that live on the same floor as us. We soon established a friend group, along with a few friends that lived in another dorm. Everyday we would all gather in our room and just talk for hours getting to know each other or just having meaningless conversations. Those first weeks were definitely something of a learning process to see what worked and what didn’t. For me personally following a routine is very important and having to form a whole new routine being here was something I was interested in exploring. At home I had a routine of going to school then going to the gym then going to work. Being in a different environment where I don’t have a job and I have to primarily focus on school I didn’t want to forget to make a routine that involved the gym since that is an important factor to me. Since most of my classes are at the end of the day no earlier than 12:30, except for my one early class at 8 am on Thursday, I developed a habit of going to the gym at the campus center in the morning. Keeping this routine for me is very important so I dont caught up in doing homework all day or forget to work on my mental and physical self. 

During these first few months something I would look forward to is going to the football games with my friends. Since I didn’t go to all of the games, when I would It was an exciting experience to get ready and go to the games with each other. Also, on the weekends my friends and I would go out to different places to learn what is around us. Regardless of the weekly target shopping trips one weekend we all decided to go to Portland for the day to shop around and get dinner. Although we ended up having a meal that none of us enjoyed for dinner it was still a fun experience and memory, we all still joke about. Another thing we did one weekend was me and my roommates went to Kennebunkport.

1271 words

Liz Chiasson 

Project 2 

11/31/22 

Dear sophie, 

My first semester of college is pretty much at an end and I wanted to tell you about my experience so far. The things I was worrying about before coming to college compared to what I’m worrying about now have changed drastically. The few months leading up to college, my main worries were if I was going to over pack or if I wasn’t going to pack enough. Also during this time my main priority was how I was going to decorate my room and how well I was going to get along with my roommates. Surprisingly enough I wasn’t scared about my classes but I was still nervous since the only classes I’ve known for the past 4 years were highschool classes. The few weeks leading up to moving in I was definitely more anxious. I didn’t fully process the fact I was going to college until those few last weeks. My worries were still the same but there was the thought in my mind about how my life was going to change completely once I moved in. Along with the only classes I’ve known were highschool classes, the only people I’ve known were people in my town who I’ve known my whole life. Especially growing up in a small town there were only a handful of people I had to get to know that I didn’t know for my whole life. Going to a whole new place with new people in an unfamiliar environment was a scary thought in my mind. Although this was a scary thought I was ready to start this new phase in my life and see what I was going to learn and explore about myself. Once the day finally came to move in, I was super nervous but excited especially to meet my roommates. We didn’t meet in person until the day we moved in so I didn’t know what to expect but to my surprise we instantly bonded. We didn’t fully unpack and finish decorating our room until the next day. We spent most of our time talking and getting to know one another and we also played a game on the first night which we still talk about to this day. Getting along so well with my roommates was a relief of stress and gave me one less thing to worry about.

 The first few days were orientation and my biggest struggle was learning where everything was on campus. These first few days I thought I wasn’t going to remember where my classes were or how to find them. Looking back at this time I was so worried but I did end up adjusting quickly. After our first official full week of classes I was able to put together how my days were going to look. During this first week my roommates and I decided we were going to go home for the weekend to visit our families. Going home for the first time was definitely a reliving experience for me. Being able to go back to a familiar place after being away was definitely something to look forward to, although I was excited to go back once I was home. Reflecting over those first few weeks everything was an adjustment; Learning where all my classes were, going to the dining hall and living in the dorms. Growing up I had an older brother and I never had to share a room with anyone before, except when I would have sleepovers with my friends or if I was on vacation. Being in a small dorm with two other people was definitely an adjustment, but it was fairly easy since we do get along so well. Although there are things that occur and come up that we have to work through, we rarely run into problems that make it hard to live with one another. Within those first few weeks of being here we also formed good relationships with people that live on the same floor as us. We soon established a friend group, along with a few friends that lived in another dorm. Everyday we would all gather in our room and just talk for hours getting to know each other or just having meaningless conversations. Those first weeks were definitely something of a learning process to see what worked and what didn’t. For me personally following a routine is very important and having to form a whole new routine being here was something I was interested in exploring. At home I had a routine of going to school then going to the gym then going to work. Being in a different environment where I don’t have a job and have to primarily focus on school, I didn’t want to forget to make a routine that involved the gym since that is an important factor to me. Since most of my classes are at the end of the day no earlier than 12:30, except for my one early class at 8 am on Thursday, I developed a habit of going to the gym at the campus center in the morning. Keeping this routine for me is very important so I dont caught up in doing homework all day or forget to work on my mental and physical self. 

During these first few months something I would look forward to is going to the football games with my friends. Since I didn’t go to all of the games, when i would It was an exciting experience to get ready and go to the games with each other. Also on the weekends my friends and I would go out to different places to learn what is around us. Regardless if it’s just our weekly target trips we always find a way to go out and explore places. One weekend we all decided to go to Portland for the day to shop around and get dinner. Although we ended up having a meal that none of us enjoyed for dinner it was still a fun experience and memory we all still joke about. Another thing we did one weekend was me and my roommates went to Kennebunkport since they have never been to the area. By the time we got there and went to one store we were already hungry so we got dinner and by the time we finished we just wanted to go back. And on the Sunday before Halloween we took a trip to Salem to walk around. I have always wanted to go to Salem and see what it was like especially during Halloween. The lines were so long and it was also raining so the overall experience wasn’t the best but I still wouldn’t change the memory. 

The months definitely go by fast being here since I feel like there is so much to do and I am constantly busy. Two weekends ago one of my close friends Caroline came up to visit and stayed for the night. She came up on Friday and Saturday we went to Portland and then we went to the hockey game against Curry college. Having her come stay with us was a fun experience since she was able to meet all my friends here and experience a different life of mine in a new perspective. So far, the first semester of college has gone by faster than I expected. Although it feels like it’s gone by fast, there are so many things I have learned and the people I met while being here that I wouldn’t be able to if I was somewhere else.