Hello, everybody. I have officially finished my first semester of college. I would’ve published this on Friday, but there was something weird going on with my pictures and I was playing around with this new blog design (tell me what you think). I have a bunch of stuff to talk about, so let’s get to it.
//Classes
I did really well on all my classes this semester. The final grades aren’t out yet, but there is a good chance I got straight A’s this semester.
- World Religions – This course was a lot of fun. It got a bit boring in the middle of the semester, but overall, it was a fun class. My favorite unit was on Lilith and Eve. It was such an interesting topic that I didn’t know much about.
- English 2 – This course was podcast based, not article based, so it was different from most English classes. The beginning was really great, but near the end of the semester, it got pretty boring because a lot of it was about the technical side of creating a podcast rather than analyzing them. I didn’t even go to two of the optional work days at the end because I knew it would be a waste of time. My favorite part about this class was that I made friends. I had to talk to people regularly, so I couldn’t avoid it. Making new friends was definitely the best part of this class.
- General Psychology – This was an interesting class. My favorite unit was definitely the one about mental disorders, which makes sense because I want to focus on disabilities studies in my major. At least I know I’m interested in what I’m going to study for the next few years.
- American Government – This was the perfect class to take during an election year, I must say. I learned a lot. I actually know how the electoral college system works, now. My previous teachers did not explain it well. The professor was great and I understand our political system a lot better. I’m glad I didn’t CLEP out of this class.
- Anthropology – This class was so fun! I learned a ton and we got to discuss so many cool and broad topics like how language affects our cultural identity, plural marriages, ancient civilizations…to name a few. I would definitely take more classes in this subject, but in the long run, I’m not going to make a career out of it, so I probably won’t.
//The Commute
By mid-November, I was going to have a nervous breakdown. I was so done with the traffic. I am so glad I found a shortcut because I was going nuts. It saves me so much time.
Even so, I prefer driving over sitting in the car while someone drops me off. I like my alone time. I spend a good amount of time singing in the car (I’m not that bad). I used to take singing classes a few years ago, so when I was bored, I’d do the vocal exercises I learned or sing Bengali folk songs while I drove.(I sang this song on repeat the last few weeks of the semester. )
The train ride is fine. I just read a book the entire ride. It’s usually the only reading time I get the entire day. The trip is half an hour each way.
I realized how desensitized I’ve become to the train when my friend rode on it the first time. Riding Marta used to be such a treat because I really didn’t do it that much. I live in metro Atlanta, so we’d just drive into the city. We rarely ever took the train. My friend was just so excited jumping around and snap chatting everything when she went. Taking the train everywhere had just become a regular part of my day, which makes me kind of sad because the excitement is gone.
//Being In The City
Here are the two things I realized while going into the city every day.
They film a lot of movies in Atlanta
This is something I already knew, but it never really dawned on me until I started seeing movie sets, regularly. There are streets that I walk through every day with little sections blocked off with cameras and boom mikes and everything. Most people don’t even crowd around them anymore to look because it’s become such a common sight. Here’s a list of movies being filmed in Georgia currently. I can understand why the radio in Atlanta is always advertising for people to be extras in movies. There are so many being filmed here right now.
Food is f***ing expensive
Seriously, though. This is especially apparent near college campuses. Restaurants up their prices because they know that college students will pay. (There are long lines during lunch hour) I will wait to get lunch at a certain time because Arby’s makes everything on their menu a dollar. I seriously don’t understand how college students afford healthy food. They are ridiculously more expensive. I’m not buying a $10 salad when I can get a $2 sandwich from Chik-Fil-A. Needless to say, I bring lunch most days because it saves me money and helps my health. Whenever I go to a restaurant, I usually just split a meal with a friend. My friend Nawmi and I ordered one dish from an Asian restaurant and it was enough for both of us. American portions are so big.
I’ve explored Atlanta a lot more in the last few months. My friend always asks, “How do you find these places?” because I take her to obscure lounges and cute coffee shops that are off the beaten path. I wander around so much that I find places that the tourists can’t crowd. I also can’t stand studying in the library because there are so many people, so I found emptier places to do work. I’ve always been like this, even in high school. I love walking around everywhere. It calms me and people watching is fun in the city.
//Living With My Parents
It really isn’t that bad. I’m going to write a whole post on how to “survive” living with your parents in college because people have asked me how I do it. I’ll go more into it in that post, so stay tuned.
*Update. Here’s the post – How To “Survive” Living With Your Parents In College
//Social Life
I’ve gotten better at doing things for fun since the first month. I spend time with friends and go out to eat. I hear some of my friends who live on campus talk about parties and going out on weeknights for karaoke and stuff and get a bit jealous, then I realize that I’m much happier lying in bed watching Netflix and being in bed by eleven. What can I say? I’m and old soul. (I also don’t want to drive my mother’s anxiety through the roof at the thought of me being Downtown at night. I’ll do that when I move out)
I love going to Centennial Olympic Park. It’s right in the center of things plus it’s the 20th anniversary of the Atlanta Olympics, so there are a bunch of cool events going on there. (There was a Chinese Lantern Festival just a few days ago.) The fact that it’s free is also a perk.
//In General
My life is very different from most college students, but it’s the best choice for me. For starters, I don’t have any student loans, so I should be able to finish college debt free. I’m able to help my parents out and am near the city my college is in. I am really enjoying being in Atlanta, which is great. A friend of mine doesn’t like the city her college is in, so she’s been experiencing a few mental health problems, which is why I’m thankful I like my area.
Sometimes I feel like I’m just letting life pass by because I’m not doing anything exciting, but then I realize that I’ve grown so much this year. I would’ve thought that my life wouldn’t have changed that much since High School because I’m in the same living situation, but this year has been great. I am so much freer and have learned so much in terms of life. I’m not “on my own” like other college students, but at the same time, this is still a new chapter of my life. It’s different from other people’s chapters, but that doesn’t mean it’s not as fulfilling.
At this point in my life, I do want that fast-paced lifestyle that people have my age and that will happen soon. For now, I’m going to enjoy the quiet weekends with my family alone and occasional get-togethers with friends. That is just as great.
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What has your semester been like?