Some Of The Things I Learned After The Preliminary Exam

Our first month of the school year conducted traditionally, has just ended, and I admit that I committed a lot of regrets. Not just only a shame, but I can define it as many regrets. As we all know, regrets are constantly coming to an end, and I can't argue with it. Therefore, instead of blaming ourselves for our past doings, why not change for the better?

I admit that I have been a bit of a failure in my studies, and I can say that changing those habits are still manageable. If I continue to waste time adapting to changes even though I am still a freshman, I might get failing grades from my professors. I thought those memes I see on Facebook are just quite exaggerated. But now, I am currently stepping in their shoes, and then I realize they are right.

So, what are things that I failed to do in the first month of my college career?

Consistent time management

Believe it or not, this is the best way to advance in your professor's lesson, especially since we are now returning to the F2F. This is not the same way of learning as online classes or modular where we are still eligible to cheat since we can't understand well what our teachers discuss. I admit that I was a bit slack in this category since I prioritize my social media accounts rather than focusing on my deadlines. Even though the deadline is still far, let's do it as soon as possible since some of your professors will add unlimited school work until you already don't know what to do first.

Check the grading system

I just disregarded the advice of one of the writers here, but I slowly realized how it impacts our grades. If you check the syllabus of your module, you can see how you are graded on your performance. Therefore, even though I disliked reciting in my major subject and most of my answers were incorrect, I didn't have a choice.

Always follow keenly at the instruction.

This is one of the most frustrating things I won't do again after failing my first quiz at HIS 007. I only got 4 points out of 15 in the identification, and I pity myself since the instructions on the way we answer must be in all caps. That's the reason I got zero on our quiz. Please always listen to your professor, self!

College is hard.

Believe it or not, college is not just a piece of cake compared to high school where we still have spare time to do other things. In this journey, you will experience sleep-deprived nights, stress, and sometimes mental breakdown. I'm still not yet halfway through my first year of college, but I'm already stressed. I remember that I just slept for more than four hours just to catch up with my reviewers. Bruh, if just know me personally, you would know how many complaints did I make just to catch up.

Review in advance.

This is the best way to catch the attention of your professors, and also in adjusting to surprising instances. To be honest, I am slowly gaining confidence in speaking in front although my voice is still a bit shaky. However, I admit that I failed to do this thing to the point I was losing my confidence in every recitation. For instance, your teacher surprises you that he/she will be conducting oral recitation. I already experienced this when my professor in my major subject raffled out our names, and I am a bit humiliated since I didn't answer his question correctly.

Fortunately, most of my scores in the quizzes and exams are not that bad except for my first quiz in Life and Works of Rizal. Not to brag, but I'm not that competitive compared to my blockmates who like to ask what is your score or what. I just like to compete with myself where I seek to be better than yesterday.

Yesterday, my professor in Understanding The Self announced who is the highest score, and I was shocked when she told me I'm the highest. However, I feel like I suddenly get the Columbia vibe when she scanned someone who got more scores than me. I'm not feeling bad for myself since I only compete with myself, but my prof gave me a mixed signal. I look like crazy when my classmate looked at me after announcing the score, then I put my hand to my mouth since I am shocked. Awkward and memorable at the same time! He got more than two points than me, and I think he deserves it. And for me, I deserve that score too.

Thank you for reading this article. Sorry if I am usually absent from writing articles due to busyness. Our midterm is almost coming this semester, and I hope I could make it. But now, they are slowly computing our grades, and I'm not that excited.