First Year Reflection

I am writing this blog on the last weekend of my first year at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. I am happy to say that it was an awesome year, and it is so bittersweet to be leaving! I have had a ton of fun and learned so much, especially about myself. Here are my thoughts on the past year…

While college was exactly what I was expecting, my time at UMass has also surprised me. College is a weird time, and each person has their own experience. For me, the college journey began by leaving my family and friends in Dallas, Texas, and traveling across the country to Amherst, Massachusetts. When choosing UMass Amherst, I really loved how it was a bustling campus environment set in a beautiful, rural area. Coming from a big city, transitioning to the small-town way of life was honestly really easy. In the past year, I have enjoyed walking into town (weather permitting, of course), checking out local coffee shops, shopping at small businesses in Amherst Center and the nearby town of Northampton, attending the Amherst farmers market during the fall and spring, and enjoying the fresh air and nature of Western Mass.  

Coming to college is a big change: Leaving home and high school, where we are extremely influenced by external factors, and then transitioning to college, where it is a personal responsibility to manage this newfound freedom. I found it exciting to be completely responsible and choose to fill my time with things I actually enjoy doing alongside my academics. As a student at UMass Amherst, I usually had two to three classes each day; at college, academics come first, as that is what we are truly here for. But, outside of that, I enjoyed working out at the Recreational Center or attending workout classes like yoga and spin; I loved to grab a coffee or iced chai and do some studying at Carney’s Cafe in the Isenberg Innovation Hub or People Market located in the Student Union, and going for walks into Amherst Center. 

The transition into college can be hard and lonely at times, and making solid friendships helps make your time at college. I have made some amazing friends here, and I will cherish our friendship for the rest of my life. I’ll miss our nightly debates on whether we should eat dinner at Berkshire or Hampshire, setting up the air mattress in our small dorm for weekend movie nights, going to watch UMass Hockey or UMass Basketball games at the Mullins Center, playing card games and charades late at night, and, football season tailgates. 

One of my favorite things about college was the opportunity to take classes that taught me something completely new while also fulfilling a general education requirement. For instance, while I was taking HTM 100, an intro course to my major, Hospitality and Tourism Management, and Statistics, also a required math credit, I was also taking an amazing Gender Studies course, WGSS 187, that taught me about feminism and racial activism, extremely important issues in today's society, and ways that I can make a difference through my words and actions. WGSS 187 is a class that has changed my life and how I view people; this is knowledge that I otherwise would have never gained if it was not for being challenged to broaden my horizons. 

Throughout my first year of college, I made a conscious effort to put myself out there, say “yes” to new experiences, and put my ideas into reality. I have learned how to be a better friend, student, and person for myself and others. The people I have met and the memories I have made are valuable to me and my future.