You might think that changing is scary, but if you’re in college, you’re most likely going to change. Changing is a part of life, and I can definitely say that I’ve changed over the past 3 years. College isn’t just about learning from textbooks— it’s about learning from your own experiences, past mistakes, and challenges. I used to think I had everything figured out, but it’s really just a process of going through it & figuring it out.
I know that the college experience for everyone is different, so I interviewed some Rochester seniors and asked them about their experience so far and how they’ve changed over the years.
Rufaro Gamariel, Class of 2025
“Change is good, definitely. I think I’ve become more intentional— intentional about my time, my energy, & my resources. What am I investing time in? Is it worth it? Am I doing good in society? Am I gaining something out of it? This goes for a lot of things. I’m a Biomedical Engineering major and on average we take 4 classes each semester. But each class comes with lectures, recitations, workshops, office hours, labs, homework, weekly readings, midterms, end of semester projects— so many different things. In addition to that, I’m very active in the University community— I’m a student alumni ambassador, I’m involved in Ma’Frisah, I’ve been a teaching assistant for a couple of classes, I have had several student jobs, I’ve helped with orientation, I mentored students— I get involved with a lot of things so I have to be intention with my time and I only have 24 hours in a day but so much more to do. So you know, it’s about asking those questions like am I saving enough time to rest, am I getting eight hours of sleep, am I catching up with my friends? Because at the end of the day I do not want to be a one man island— engulfed in a lot of academics and don’t really have a social life so it’s about being intentional, and mindful myself, and my position in the university community. I’ve always been active and that comes with being intentional & mindful and knowing when you’ve exhausted your resources, knowing when you’ve exhausted your energy and you have nothing more to give, so much as I say, you know I’ve become more intentional and I have become more aware about myself and my peace of mind and my happiness and my bandwidth. So with a growing sense of intentionality came along a growing sense of self awareness and also being aware of other people as well- checking in on other people. I have so much stuff going on at a single time but I don’t forget about my friends. If I meet my friends I ask them how they’ve been and what they’re up to, and I try to keep up with their social media— just to see what they’re doing outside of academics.”
Yousra Awad, Class of 2025
“Since I’ve come to University of Rochester, I’m more open to talk to people & get to know people from my class— it wasn’t something that I actively tried to do. I also think my perspective on a lot of things have changed as well as my priorities. It was more like- if something is good then it is good and if it’s bad then it’s bad, but I kinda understand now that it’s not always black and white, there’s this grey area as well— I guess that’s just maturing. I started to focus more on the long-term goals and things that would make me happier in the long-run than in the short-run. I’m more confident in socializing & comfortable in talking with people. I understand that it’s okay to have a social battery & I understand that it runs out sometimes.”
Somes Schwinghammer, Class of 2025
“Oh lord that’s a difficult question. If I had to answer I would say that that I’ve definitely found my people in a way that I never would have expected freshman year. My social network has shifted and changed a lot since I first came to campus, but ever since I really started applying myself to clubs and activities on campus I’ve been really happy to have found truly likeminded people. Something I don’t think I’ve ever really been able to do before.”
Germania Balbuena Marte, Class of 2025
“It has shown me how to be more accepting towards people, be less stubborn with things, it has shown me to improve my studying habits & has truly shown me that I am a true ‘yapper.’ I’m too talkative and that has shown me that I need to have my priorities straight. My priorities now is to pass all my classes because I’m a senior, it’s my last year & I really want to graduate. My social life is very active and usually on the weekends I see my friends, I have movie nights sometimes with my past roommates and I’m the president of a club which allows me to interact with people from different backgrounds and that’s part of my social life. I’m also a Student Alumni Ambassador for which I have to socialize with other people. When I was a freshman, I had too much of a social life so I had to tone it down a bit because I was noticing that I was putting others before me. So change is good— I’ve been learning how to put myself first and be less of a people-pleaser.”
Leen Khankan, Class of 2025
“I feel like having gone to an institution in which there were so many different people from different backgrounds, it was almost like a cultural shock— there were so many different things you weren’t used to. It helped me in my critical period of life where I was discovering who I am, seeing what I like, what I don’t like— it made me really tolerant & open to diversity & understanding differences in culture & understanding that different is not bad, it’s just different. The thing is, a big part of growing positively is understanding who you truly are and understanding what you want out of life and envisioning that ideal self & trying to become that. It’s really hard not to find your people, and there’s so many different ways you can find yourself. I grew in terms of understanding who I want to be as a person and how I could take those steps in order to be that person. I realized that it’s okay to ask for help & it doesn’t make you any less strong.”
Lastly, Myself
When I first arrived here, I was extremely enthusiastic about the next four years but also confused about a lot of things. I worked my way through a lot — imposter syndrome, cultural shock, & academic struggles. College was a huge jump from high school and I learned that the hard way. To sum it all up— I’ve had so much growth over the years— academically & mentally. I’ve learned to prioritize myself, my mental & physical health (at least better than before), learned how to manage my academics, learned how to balance my social life and academics, & made meaningful, long-lasting, & beautiful connections that I wouldn’t have made elsewhere. My friends definitely played a huge role in shaping me into becoming the person I am today— they’ve been there for me, helped me make difficult decisions, supported me, advised me about future career goals & helped in making my college experience truly unforgettable.”
College is really what you make it, so make it good! Even if things don’t go as planned your first year, it will get better the next. Just hold on till it gets better. That’s a promise, dear Yellowjackets!