End of a chapter!

Hello Concord Family,

A chapter has indeed closed for me, in the form of my first year of college. I remember being told as I started this college journey that the first year of college would go by fast, that is absolutely what happened. As I reflect on this year, first semester was by far the easiest for me academically and socially. As I got into second semester, I had a hard time academically and my health was not at its best either.

The Month of May brought on high stress but also an ounce of happiness into my life. I looked forward to the Black Excellence Gala that celebrated blackness which I was part of. But not only that I was announced as one of the new executive board members of the Black empowerment student alliance. That was definitely the highlight of my month, to be on the executive board of BESA is a great honor but to also be on the executive board of the African Nations Student Alliance is an honor as well. I am very pleased to serve on the 2019-2020 executive board of both clubs.

Academically, second semester of my first year has not been the easiest for me. I started my second semester with nonstop sickness but not only that as we got into spring allergies kicked in for me. With classwork, studying and exams it felt as if I was being drained in school. I struggled with finding balance but also generally struggled in some classes. For the first time, I doubted myself when it came to what I could handle.

No matter how much I struggled, I still enjoyed my classes and the lessons learned in each. Theology of death and after life thought me to accept the concept of death and not fear it, Sociology opened my eyes to all to the theories and concept of our everyday lives and how we as society functions, Biology pushed me to gain a greater understanding of how the human body works and helped me in growing collaborative skills within a group and Justice and Peace Studies once again thought us about how unjust our world is and no matter how many times we think we are moving forward segregation still lies deep within our country. I may not have thrived as best as I wanted grade wise in these classes, but I definitely learned a lot from them and enjoyed getting to know all of my professors.

The lesson I am taking from this semester is to keep working hard and even though my grades were not what I wanted I am using it as my motivation to work hard and get even better next fall. I will continue to work hard and will continue to show everyone that I deserve to be in college, and I will trust and believe in myself.

May has been hard for sure but also sad to move out because it was over. I am already looking forward to moving back in next fall and experiencing it all again. I am happy to be home and happy for summer to begin to travel and work at Concord this summer. As May comes to an end, it wasn’t an easy month, but it was one to remember.

As June comes, I am looking forward to starting work at Concord, taking my driver’s license test and also looking forward to turning 19 later in June. I can’t wait for June and what it has to bring my way.

Until next time,

J’so!

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Pollen invasion

Hello Concord Family,

Well, April came and went by in a blink of an eye for me, but it left a lasting effect in the name of allergies for me. April came with the end of spring break for me which meant back to school hoping all my sickness from March would be over with. But what I seem to forget, is that with April comes really bad allergies. So, all of April I have been battling stuffy noses, watery eyes and non-stop sneezing. Safe to say I’ve have an eventful April to say the least.

The whole month of April for me has been relaxing in the way that there wasn’t much going on just focusing on school and more school. I spent the first week back from spring break taking two midterms, which was interesting because I rather take a midterm before break. The midterms were for theology and sociology, the theology midterm went okay and the sociology one was pretty good. I was extremely proud of my midterm grade for that class because I was struggling a little bit but after the midterm, I got my groove back and started to move forward. I don’t know what happened with theology, but I didn’t do as good as I expected but I used that as motivation to work harder. The rest of my classes are going pretty well, and I am doing good in those classes.

As April came to an end, I was reflecting on this semester and there is something about this semester that has been making it harder academically for me. I’ve been stressing out more and school work has just been harder. I know as college goes on it will get harder but still it has been a harder semester for me. But I’ve been using the stress to find that balance of school and everything else going on in my life. On the bright side, the end of April meant choosing my classes for fall and that in itself was an adventure, but I am happy to say I have a set schedule for next fall.

April was an alright month for me but as we get into May I am using it as my motivation to keep working hard and end this semester with a bang. On another note, oh my god! my first year of college is close to coming to an end. In a blink of an eye it went by so fast, in just those few months I’ve learned and grown a lot. I don’t know where time is going but is sure going by fast.

Well concord, hope everything is going well over there, this was just a quick look into my very boring month of April.

Till Next time,

J’so.

Sickness Overload!

Concord family,

First, I wanted to apologize for the lateness of this post. This month has not been my best at all. Concord family what a month I’ve had, literally sickness overload and busy. So, all in all March was not my month and I am happy it is over.

March started for me being sick with a really bad cold and within that same week I had two tests and a paper due. I was in a way expecting the sickness because everyone around me was sick weeks earlier, but it really just hit me out of nowhere and made it hard to get anything done. I was really thankful in that moment to leave not so far from home because my mom dropped by with a bunch of medication and food to help me through. A few days later I was better and recovering but I had so much school work to catch up on.

One thing I will say is that catching up on school work in college after being sick for almost a week is pretty draining. I had to take the tests I missed and got an extension on and also write the paper and get it in, on top of that I had my regular school work to get done. The first two weeks of March were busy and hard and at one point I felt like I was losing myself. But thanks to friends and family that were keeping me sane I got things done and was back on my game. After those rough two weeks it was back to normal school leading up midterms and spring break.

I am happy to say midterms were not too stressful for me because I didn’t have any tests just two papers due. Those papers were not hard at all and I was happy to get them done. So, while my friends were stressing out over test, I was more relaxed and just ready for break. Break came quicker then we knew it, but I wasn’t able to enjoy my break because once again I was sick for the second time in three weeks.

My spring break was spent in bed with a box of tissues trying to survive this wave of sickness. So, spring break was uneventful, and March was definitely not my month.

Well Concord family this was what my March looked like, I am hoping with the new month and spring finally April will be amazing.

Until next time,

J’so!

Black History Month!

Hello Concord family,

Ahhhhhhh February one of my favorite months came and went by so fast. This month is meaningful to be because is black history month, even though I think black history should be celebrated every month. Not only that this was my first month back to school to start spring semester and once again is going by fast as well.

I spent the first few days of February at home spending some last quality moments with my family. Then I packed up and went back to St. Thomas. Right as I got back to UST I was thrown into classes and all the other activities going on campus. Needless to say, this month has been extremely busy, and I felt myself disconnecting from everything and just focusing on school. Just like last semester I had to find the balance of school and having fun as well. I realized even more this past few weeks that just focusing on school is great and I get my things done but at the same time I have to balance it out with other stuff.

Classes wise I think I am slowly finding my groove and handling my classes the best way I can. This semester I am taking Human Biology, Theology 394, Active non-violence and Sociology. I really like how my classes are all across the map because slowly is helping get a better idea of what I want to major in. So far, I am doing good in classes and keeping up with my work even though at times I feel backed up. As for next week, I am preparing myself for a paper that is due and two exams, but I am not too worried because I know as long as I put in the work the outcome will be good. Overall, I am enjoying my classes and looking forward to the rest of the semester.

The exciting part of this month was celebrating black history month and doing all the activities that went with it. I have enjoyed the discussions revolving around race, talking about what it means to be black, the workshops and the dinner that wrapped it all up. Even though this month is over I will continue to celebrate black history every month.

Well Concord family, this is what my month looked like. I know is all over the place but that is how chaotic it felt at times. Stay tuned for next month!

Until next time,

J’so!

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2019 is flying by!

Woah!

Are my only words based on how quick this month of January flew by. It honestly feels like we just got into the new year and January started, but now as we can see is already over. My January was all spent at home because I have been off school since December 21st and it has been nice just being home resting and catching up with my family and high school friends.

So, safe to say my January was spent relaxing with no school or homework to worry about. I myself could not believe that I had a whole month off and did not have to worry one bit about homework. After a while I got used to it and started relaxing more. I spent the first few weeks of January catching up with my two best friends that were off from school as well and some close friends that were also in town for winter break. Honestly seating down and having conversations with these people made me realize how different we are living our college life and the different experiences we are making. But at the same time, it felt amazing to get together again and have it feel like old times.

Catching up with my friends was great but catching up with my family was amazing as well. When I am away at school my life tends to become all about school and what is surrounding me most of the time, so being home and just focusing my attention on family gave me a sense of peace. It was just great not only to be home again with my mom and sister but also seeing my aunts and uncles and just talking about my experiences so far in school but also hearing about what is new with them. I just love spending time with my family so having this month off to do that was needed.

Well, Concord family as January comes to an end that means is back to school for me and the start of second semester. I am really excited about what Second semester has to bring and all that I get to learn and experience in these last three months of my freshman year. I am ready to take on the spring semester and the more memories to come.

Concord family stay with me as I continue to experience it all!

Until Next Time,

J’so.

 

December

Hello Concord Family,

Ahhhh, is the only thing I can think of. I can’t believe I have come full circle and finished my first semester of college. It is honestly so surreal, it seems like yesterday I was packing and freaking out about going to college. Here I am now, done with my first semester and feeling good about it.

When December started, I had to mentally prepare myself for the stress I was about to endure during finals week. I have had finals in high school before, but I didn’t know what to expect when preparing for college finals. I had three finals and a final paper due. Easy to say I had to apply all the time management skills I had been learning these past few weeks. Because each of my classes are different the way I had to study for them was different and that was a challenge. Also, not forgetting the fact that it was easier for me to want to have fun rather than study, but I knew better than that.

Through it all I am happy to say I passed all my finals and I am happy with my final grades. This feeling of happiness is coming from the hours spent studying, stressing, worrying and at times questioning if I could do it. This month and this semester itself have pushed me academically in ways I never thought I could be before. I was challenged to think outside of the box, to ask the “risky” questions and to learn to have faith in my academic ability. As the first semester has come to an end once again, I understood the importance of hard work, determination and resiliency. As more semesters come and go, I will keep working harder and pushing myself academically to be the best I can be.

As finals finished, I packed up and made my way home to spending the holidays with my family. Even though this month was harder for me because there are some special people I have met that I wasn’t going to see for a while, I needed to see my family as well. With the holiday spirit around me, Christmas day was spent with my family consisting of me, my mom, sister and aunts and uncles. There was no better way I wanted to spend the holidays. It was amazing to just be surrounded  by my loved ones.

As 2018 ends, I am really looking forward to 2019. I am looking forward to my spring semester, the memories I get to make, a healthy family, the relationships I have created and will keep creating. But most of all I am looking forward to growing mentally, emotionally and physically and overall to keep making my mom and family proud. 2019 will be the year to take my time and go at a pace that works me.

2018 has thought me so many lessons and has been filled with so many memories whether good or bad. Obrigado 2018 and hello 2019!

 

Until Next time,

J’so!

3 Weeks To Go!!

 

Hello Concord family,

Ahhhh, is honestly all I can say. I am three weeks away from finals and from ending my first semester of college. Where has time gone? I have no clue, but it all has been a very interesting ride.

November for me began with looking forward to heading home and spending Thanksgiving with my family. The month started off slow because midterms were done earlier and fall break had just ended so it was just a normal few weeks with being a student, trying to be social and at the same time making sure I made time for myself. Like I have said in some earlier posts balance is so important, is all about balance. I am still working on that balance and slowly finding my groove.

So far academics have been stressful but not that bad, since coming back from fall break, I feel like the work load hasn’t been bad. I am doing pretty good in all my classes and feel comfortable and good about my tests and quizzes I have taken. But as we are about three weeks away from finals, things are piling up and the work load is becoming a lot. But just like I passed and survived midterms I am ready to take on finals as well.

This semester has honestly gone by so fast is insane, but every day has been an adventure, whether good or bad I have learned a lot from it. This month has just been relaxing with school work, spending time with family and friends, as November ends, I am ready to take on December and Christmas.

Well Concord, family this what I have been up to this past month. Can’t wait for December but until then wish me luck on my first ever college finals.
Till Next time,
J’so!

Just a few pictures of me and some friends at the Gophers opener game and some snow time fun!