Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.
So here I am, my first official writing assignment at college. Two weeks ago, I couldn’t even imagine how college life would be. Would I be scared? Nervous? Would I have friends? How would life be without my family by my side every day?
Well, I’ve been immersed in this new experience for about a week now, and my questions are nowhere near to being wholly answered. I do know a couple of things, though.
I know that thinking ahead to the future scares me beyond words.
I have made a few good friends.
Life without Mom and Dad is different, but life is overall okay.
Being introduced to a new lifestyle is always a daunting thought. Moving to Orange County was a daunting thought to me. I’m originally from a smaller town in Northern California called Davis and although I haven’t been in Southern California very long, I can already tell that day to day life is very different here compared to the NorCal lifestyle.
How could I, a 17-year-old girl from the outskirts of a small town that is used to spending her time mudding and out on the horse ranches, adapt to city life? As an outsider, Southern California never piqued my interest because of the stereotypes that I had always associated with it. The fast-paced lifestyle, emphasis on looks, and the awful traffic all turned me off from SoCal. However, somehow, I still wound up at Chapman University. My reasoning for attending Chapman University are vast, but one reason that drew me in the most is that I wanted to travel outside of my comfort zone.
To me, traveling is doing anything that is outside of your daily routine, and that pushes you out of your comfort zone. Traveling should create new experiences that allow you to learn and grow.
When it came time to choose my courses for the upcoming semester, I knew that I wanted to experience a lot of major classes if possible. Still, I also knew that I wanted to take GE courses that spiked my interest to make learning more personalized to my wants and goals. I was drawn to this course because I was intrigued by the idea of having a class that had a singular focus. I also believed that the Writing about Travel course would let me explore my experiences through a creative outlet.
I am hoping that from this course, I broaden my knowledge of different views of travel via my peers and that I learn more about ways to express my experiences through various mediums. From looking at the syllabus, I believe that the weeks that we spend discussing specific topics will be an eye-opener to me.
Sharing my work with my peers has always been something that makes me nervous. However, I feel motivated to make sure my work is of good quality because of this. As the year progresses, I hope to gain more confidence in my work and to strengthen my critiquing skills on other’s work.
So here I am — a college freshman with no predetermined expectations or judgments, just a fresh start. I am not sure what the future holds for me, but I know I will have many more questions and experiences that push me outside my comfort zone, but I am ready to start my journey.
batulaonline.travel.blog 