With this whirlwind of an academic year finally coming to an end, there is a lot that we can reflect on. Whether directly related to school or not, I’m sure all of us have learned important lessons that we will keep with us for a long time. I asked several students here on campus about some things that they have learned this year. Here are their responses:
Sarah Coleman (freshman, pre-nursing): I learned that there are many different avenues and ways to achieve what you want. You and the next person could have the same goals and you will each take different paths to get there. I also learned that it’s okay to question as long as you keep searching for an answer.
Jaden Leiterman (freshman, medical laboratory sciences): I think some things I’ve learned this academic year is that a lot of what I thought I knew about college coming in as a freshman changed once I started classes, to things about the dorm experience, the workload, and the people I’d be interacting with during the year. I think I have also been able to grow a lot amidst not only my first year in college but also a global pandemic, especially learning a lot about myself. It really has been much more than I imagined, but I am continuing to grow and learn from all of it and enjoying myself from it as well.
Emma VanderWaal (sophomore, social work): Something I’ve learned this year is that we are living in crazy times and that means self-care is all the more important. There may be times where you have to make a few sacrifices academically in order to protect your mental health. This is something I’m still trying to learn!
Drusilla Apola (freshman, speech pathology): What I have learned is that the school year can go by really fast if you keep yourself busy--which is an advantage. But a disadvantage to it going by fast is that if you don’t focus and get everything together, it could go so fast that you’re not paying attention. So it’s important to give it your all, all the time and it will be over before you know it.
CJ Arthur (junior, pre-physical therapy): I've learned about the different categories that contribute to trauma; for example, organizational trauma, which was really interesting to learn about.
Jennifer Jean (freshman, business administration): What I have learned is that your mental health is a very important thing. Take a day off if you need to, because you matter.
Max Pierre (junior, computer science): I learned how to build an app from scratch this semester, which seems to be a pretty valuable skill. I also learned a lot about statistics and how useful stats are for developing businesses.
Gabriel Palacios (junior, music performance & math): I learned how to compose a fugue [which is a contrapuntal composition in which a short melody or phrase (the subject) is introduced by one part and successively taken up by others and developed by interweaving the parts].
Giulietta Marcos-Vega (sophomore, nursing): One thing I learned this year was that even though school is important, self-care is also a priority and should be taken seriously.
Justin Flores (sophomore, medical laboratory sciences): One thing I’ve learned this year is to treat yourself with the same respect that you treat others. When you come up short on your goals, the tendency is to be hard on yourself and ask yourself why you’re not performing at your highest capacity. However, this mindset is dangerous and will only be detrimental to you in the long run. Respect yourself and allow as much time as you need to grow and learn from your shortcomings. You wouldn’t talk down to someone for not achieving desired results (hopefully) so why should you talk down to yourself?
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.