My fall semester at St. Norbert College

The first semester in St. Norbert College is done. Since I went to America, I have welcomed Fall and Winter. It was never easy to get used to everything because it was my first college life in my life and started in the new country. So I think it was passed too fast. But everything is valuable to me. I could learn English not as a discipline, but as a life. Also, I learned different cultures. There were a lot of priceless experiences in terms of the human relationship.

To attend college really differed from what I have imagined. I used to know everyone in my middle school and high school, so I was closed to all students in the same year.  The fact that there were only about 250 people in one grade made it possible, but I took it for granted because my friends were same as me. But the college was very different from high school. Everyone including me was so busy that it was hard to make a bond between each other. Also, it took a long time to open the mind to others. At first, I thought it is one of American culture, like individualism. But I realized that it is just the normal characteristic of college life, after talking with my Korean friends who are attending university in Korea. So, I changed my mind to try to open my mind and get close to others. For example, I said "hi" to someone with a smile, asked his or her hobby to find common grounds, or treated friend by cooking. After doing that, some friends knew about my efforts and opened to me their mind. Thanks to my friends, I learned new and interesting English expressions, as well as the way to adjust to America.

The second challenging thing was studying. In college, we have to decide which classes we want to take and have to study by ourselves. In my country, Korea, the education system is so-called cramming education, so this change was unfamiliar to me. But I didn't want to be behind the other students in college. I decided to apply for tutor system, which is having my personal tutor. I asked her how to manage my time and how to study efficiently. Before I asked for her, I was afraid that she might regard me as a coward who cannot do such an easy things by myself. However, unlike my worry, she helped me sincerely, even telling her own experiences. So now I found the way that is suitable for me quickly and have studied efficiently.

As I tried to deal with the difficult things with others, I realized that to get up the nerve is really hard but the most important. Anais Nin said, "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." We sometimes face the adversity and could be frustrated while living. However, if we try to be brave, that hardship will be the opportunity to expand our life and grow ourselves more.