Overall, my first semester of college has been an absolute blur. I have been incredibly busy every single day since August 25th with Blue Band and school work. With all the hecticness, I have been rather stressed out, but I think it was a good acclimating experience. College is obviously a lot different than high school, and this first semester has taught me that. So, rather than look at it through a pessimistic lens, I am thankful for this first semester.

My semester in RCL has helped me learn how to adapt. I did not do too well on my Civic Artifact speech, so I knew I needed to change what I was doing in order to get the grades I wanted on the next assignments. My time in this class has really taught me how to look at the world and all the literary characteristics of society with an analytical eye. I have been able to see what advertisers’ true intentions were when designing commercials, magazine spreads, etc. I have also been able to reflect and comment on shifts that have occurred in many aspects of society.

I am excited for next semester, where I will learn to make arguments with my writing. While we did not do much of this in RCL I, it is important to develop analysis skills before learning how to persuade others to follow my thinking.

I feel as though I began this semester off struggling to fit the assignment. However, this semester has taught me how to mold my ideas into the framework of an assignment, which has allowed me to do much better on the past few assignments. I think I have excelled in picking unique topics and taking a unique spin on these topics, which I think has made my work interesting and fresh.

I look forward to next semester, and the remainder of my time here at Penn State, because now I know that even though I may struggle at times, I will come out stronger. College is one long learning experience, and I am excited to see what kind of person I am when I graduate.