My first semester is just about complete here at Penn State. Attending school here in the summer has taught me a lot about myself, which helped me to improve certain things in my life. It was a challenge at first figuring out how do things on my own. Things like adjusting to living with a roommate, doing laundry, and having to adjust to not having people from home around me like I used to. College has taught me just how valuable time is. It made me start developing the habit of writing down my daily schedule every morning to balance out my day. It has also taught me to prioritize my education over friends, and I’m glad that I learned that before everyone else in the fall.

This is the first time that I have ever been away from my family for an extended period of time. I thought that it wouldn’t be as bad at first, but as the weeks went by it started to set in that I was now on my own. I only visited home twice this summer, which allowed me to not feel totally disconnected from home. I mostly kept in touch with my family through phone calls and FaceTime calls. Summer has prepared me for the fall by getting the hard part of leaving home and not seeing your family out of the way. I have learned that my family and I, even though we miss each other, will be okay with me being up at State College instead of home in Coatesville.

My first semester has provided me many lessons and ways to overcome challenges. I think the most important thing that my first semester has taught me is that time is very valuable. If you procrastinate for an hour or avoid your work and go out and do something, then you’re going to regret it later. My first couple of weeks taught me that you should finish what you can a day before the assignment is due to get ahead of the work, so you have time for other activities later. Another challenge that I faced were my study habits from high school. I used to not have to study that much to get a good grade on a test, but I realized that it doesn’t work like that here in college. This has helped me to change my habits and look into the best places to study. I also got introduced to the tutoring center here on campus.

I’m glad that I took two classes this summer. The classes were condensed into a six-week semester instead of the normal thirteen-week semester here at Penn State. So, I received a lot of work in a short period of time which allowed me to get used to the workload that I’ll be getting here in the fall. The number of students in both of my classes had about the same amount of people in it as my high school did. This allowed me to adapt to the new college environment very easily, and it allowed me to get used to being around peers that I don’t know in a smaller environment. I also like how I was able to increase my social circle while I’ve been here. Coming for summer session has allowed me to meet new people before classes start for everyone else. It almost gives you a trial run about being around people that you aren’t familiar with and picking wisely who you do become friends with. A balance between time with my friends and time with myself is important though because there are times when I need to focus on me and my school work. Lastly, summer session has also allowed me to better my study and work habits. This has helped me to achieve good grades in both of my classes which will help with my GPA which will help me get into The College of Engineering.

In the fall I plan to carry on the time management habits that I have developed here. I also would like to increase my social circle and go out and meet new people. I would also like to keep up my good work ethic and achieve the good grades that I would like to get. I can’t wait to start my first full semester in the fall!

Picture of my dorm for the summer session.

Contact me at…

Twitter: @CalebHershey1

Email: cjh6118@gmail.com