My Reflection

This may sound cliché, but the first thing I thought about when asked to reflect upon this year was the great deal of stuff I learned outside of the classroom. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty to learn in Tisch Library and calc class, but somehow I think when I look back at college I won’t be thinking about derivatives and integrals. I think the main reason I learned so much here in this one year was because I was able to get away from what I thought was a suffocating home environment and finally be by myself. And even at the end of this year, I’m still just beginning to tap into my true self. So without further ado, here are some things I learned this year:

Life is not all fun all the time. Again, this is something which sounds a little cliché, but it still holds an enormous amount of truth. This year’s swim season was probably the most challenging thing I have had since being here. There were times when I really didn’t think I would make it. But it taught me how gratifying it can be to stand up and face a challenge, and overcome it. What highlighted this for me was actually the couple months after season. This is where I discovered that without work, fun is no longer fun. What is good without bad? While I thought during swim season that afterwards I would never want to swim again, now I learn that these kinds of challenges are what make life so invigorating. Also, I think looking back I can only remember a few things from parties, but I have dozens of memories in the pool working with my teammates that we will never forget.

I also learned how much I actually love and miss my family. Home is much more important to me now than it was a year ago. I think when I was in high school it was easy to get caught up in work and stuff which make you forget how important having a home is. Only by coming to college could I gain this perspective on the value of a family. There is nothing better than having somewhere to go where you will be loved unconditionally, and being “independent” this year was the best way to learn that.