A Day in the Life of Peipei
My first term in college was a roller coaster. I took three classes that turned out to be nothing like I expected. Allow me to walk you through all the dramatic changes that happened because of each of those classes.
I only have classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. So, for three days a week, I wake up at 8 AM in order to make it on time to my writing class which starts promptly at 8:50 AM. Out of the three classes I chose, this one scares me the most. Please don’t get me wrong, I love writing, just not academic writing which is what this class is all about. Fortunately, I fell in love with my writing professor after that very first class—not in a romantic way, of course. She was so animated and lively throughout the whole class and wouldn’t stop asking us questions, and making us talk. There is nothing I despise more than public speaking, or speaking in front of a big group of people in general. Because of this, I did not expect myself to speak up at all in this class that I didn’t think I would be good in. My writing professor somehow made it so easy for me to do so. I walked out of that class feeling proud of myself for participating while marveling at how much fun I had in the past hour.
The second I left my writing class, I would walk straight out the building, cross the road, pass Novack—my favorite cafe on campus, and go straight into the math department building. Now this was a class I knew I was going to love. I mean I loved math back in high school and it was one of the things I excelled at, so how could I not? I remember telling my friends who took the class with me that I might actually minor in math after that very first day. I couldn’t take back my words fast enough though. Three weeks later, I was more than ready to be done with math, forever if possible. The way math is taught in college, especially at a school like Dartmouth, is nowhere near similar to what I was used to. I left every lecture more confused than when I walked in. There was a lot of self-studying, a lot of struggling, and a lot of late nights in libraries panicking before the exams. Perhaps it was the fact that I had to take two gap years before coming to Dartmouth, or perhaps it was simply the fact that math is no longer something I was passionate about. Nevertheless, I do not see much mathematics happening over the next four years of college for me.
My third and last class starts at 12:50 PM, leaving me with just enough time for lunch. This class was the one I looked forward to most considering the fact that it was an introduction class to my intended major, Environmental Studies. This class was called “Environment and Society,” and I could positively say that taking this particular class may or may not have changed the outlook of my college degree. Apologies, that was yet another exaggeration. However, that class did make me realize that perhaps Environmental Studies wasn’t for me. The class involves a lot of theoretical discussions surrounding political and economic issues that impact the environment. I’ve always known that politics and economics were two subjects I couldn’t stand. So, it was completely my fault for taking the class in spite of the course description. To be fair, that class was a prerequisite for the Environmental Studies major and I was still certain when I was selecting courses that it would be my major. Needless to say, I did not enjoy taking that class nor any of the work that I had to do for that class.
In spite of all the surprises I got from all these classes, good and bad, I still feel like I’ve learnt quite a bit from each of them. Throughout it all, I could certainly say that I had fun exploring my interests and figuring out what I like and do not like about college courses. I hope to do better in picking classes next term.