Throughout this journey I have learned so many things about myself. I have learned things about myself from the type of weather that I prefer to the way that I should react to a situation. This has also been a great way to see what I want in a university.
One of the first things I realized while I was here was that communication was the key to a good relationship. I cannot expect people to react to a situation the way that I would because we are all different. I had thought that the way I did things should be the way others should do things. This is not true at all and is a very selfish and unrealistic thing to expect out of someone. I am really glad I realized this because it is helping me become a better person and more understanding of others. I had been told for a long time that everyone doesn’t think the same but I had never took it to heart until I got to Brown where I realized that everyone not thinking like me is a good thing.
Being here has also helped me become more professional. Being in a program where the adults treat you like an adult instead of a child forces you to think in a whole different way. Many adults don’t think about how something might make you feel because emotions are a waste of time in the real world. If all the business men worried about the effect of the exchanges they did everyday then we wouldn’t have a functioning government. By forcing me into a professional setting I had to force myself to not take things personally. People don’t intentionally say something to hurt your feelings; it is just the most straight forward way to get their message across. Experiencing this now is going to help me get over small problems and move on because there are bigger problems than your own.
I have also realized the little things that make a university great aren’t always the most obvious. At first I thought that a dorm was just a dorm and that I would only have to live with it for eight or nine months. From staying in these dorms I now know what kind of questions to ask when I am on a college tour. Such as, “how many bathrooms are there per floor?”…”What kind of chair is provided in the dorms?”…”Is there a lounge and kitchen on EVERY floor?” These are the kind of questions that I would have had no idea to ask the tour guide. They seem so trivial but having a lounge is really useful when you want some time away from everything. I will also be ready to ask about the type of food selection they have in the resident cafeterias? Compared to the cafeteria food that I have had at my high school, this food is much better, but I would like to have a little better variety of fruits and vegetables. These questions may seem insignificant but these are the things that determine whether you have a good day or a bad day.
Over all I have really learned some valuable lessons that I otherwise would not have had. Being here has taught me many things about myself, others, and what I want out of my college.
Megan,
ReplyDeleteIf the only thing that mattered about a school was what was going on in the classroom, there would never be a need for site tours.
As you pointed out, it's the little things that can make a college life enjoyable, just tolerable or just plain miserable.
The weather is a major factor, rural or urban, the politics of the community, the dorms and the food in the dorms and so many other "little" things.
You're just getting a small taste of the kinds of things to be on the lookout for. Better now than after writing that check for $50,000.