The Life of College Student
By: Massiel Tavarez
Waking up everyday at six in the morning to get ready for school can take a great toll on the average student. Having to stay up all night and work on assignments along with going to class can become exhausting.
College students claim that one of the hardest tasks that they had stumbled upon was getting rid of their high school mentality. Young students at PCCC have similar thoughts when they were asked if it was difficult for them to transition into a college student.
Harold Dominguez, 18, Mechanical Engineer Major, claims that college made him realize that if you don’t stay on top of your work, things will go downhill for you. “College gave me heart problems and high blood pressure because college is like a scary movie, you never know when there is going to be a jump scare,” Dominguez said. Dominguez is currently in his second semester and claims that college life is complicated, because other than worrying about his classes he also worries about things outside of college.
Michelle Baez, 18, Medical Assistant Major, claims that college made her realize how much responsibility she has. “I got used to high school handling things for me. College is not like that, you have to do it all yourself,” said Baez.
For Baez college has been simple other than the financial aid process. She claims that the only struggle that she came across was missing paperwork for financial aid and constantly having to check her email. Baez is in her second semester and says that her goal is to work in the medical field, even if she starts off small.
Annas Khalaifeh, 19, Education Major, claims that college was simple for him because he took college courses as a senior in high school. Although he did take college classes in high school, he was not prepared for one major change. “College impacts my life because I meet new people every day,” says Khalaifeh. He is a friendly person, but it is difficult for him to learn how to deal with so many different personalities.
Parviz Polanco, 20, Teacher Education Major, claims that college made a positive impact in his life. He said that, if he weren’t in college, he’d be at home all day. “So far I feel like college has been pretty average, some courses are difficult, and others are somewhat easy,” Polanco states. Polanco is set to graduate in May 2019 and plans on attending Montclair State University ;he plans to continue striving for success until he has a stable job in the field of his major.
Nicholas Freites, 19, Criminal Justice Major, claims that college is an educational and fun way to learn about himself and his major. “One of my major problems is balancing time between school, work, and my personal time. Due to my strong beliefs and desire to be educated I often have to take away time from both my personal life and sometimes my work schedule in order to compensate for school time,” said Freites. He says that he enjoyed his experience in college due to his high interest in his major. Although it was a rocky start for Freites, he is set to graduate in the Summer of 2019.
Kenneth Regalado, 19, Engineering Science Major, claims that transitioning from high school to college was challenging for him. Not only was it hard for him to transition, but it was also difficult for him to step out of his comfort zone and meet new people. “[College helped me] make new friends, which is good because in my field, you constantly meet new people. In high school I was shy and didn’t have many friends, but now in college I am becoming more open and meeting new people,” said Regalado. Regalado is set to graduate in January 2020 and plans to go to NJIT and/or Rutgers New Brunswick to continue his studies.
Dianes Urena, 19, Criminal Justice Major claims that college has impacted her life because of the different options and opportunities shown to her. Urena claims that college life for her has been in the middle because of certain weaknesses and strengths that she has. “English is not my cup of tea; so writing essays is something I didn’t like it do,” said Urena.
Annybel Mendoza, 18, Business Major, explained that her college experience is in the middle thus far; she added that she has come upon some struggles, but she learned how to overcome them. Mendoza expressed that although she did overcome her struggle in college, she could not have done it on her own. “It was hard for me to go from high school to college because everything is so different and you are expected to do everything on your own,” said Mendoza. Mendoza is currently in her second semester and is still learning how to adapt to the college life.
Although college is not something that people plan to be easy, it all takes time to learn how to adapt. It is never a problem to ask people for help because everyone at one-point needs help.