You were on stage receiving your diploma, and now you’re on your way to achieving your life goals. That’s exactly what happens to most of us who finished high school.  

I woke up from my home in Brecksville, Ohio, and planned to take the 30-minute commute for my first week of college at The University of Akron majoring in Communications: Media Studies. I’ve always had goals of working for the creative factor and after viewing colleges, I had no doubts that University of Akron would be the best fit for me. 

 The first week was my most nerve-racking, so the drive to Akron was overwhelming. I did not make any friends at the time, and those friends had different schedules than mine.  

You can imagine the five thousand thoughts running through my head as I was on my way to college. Would I even make friends? Are the professors even nice? Am I making a good choice? Despite that, I made my way there simply fine, in between all the traffic, and high speeds, I was ready to take on my first day of college. 

First off, I did not know where to park so that was a hassle, on top of that, I did not know how college classes worked, so this was going in with an open mind. Public Speaking was my first lecture on campus, and it was very anxiety-educing to kick off my day with such an interactive class.  

After finding a place to park, calming myself down, I went in. The professor was very nice to the class, gave us her syllabus, and reviewed the layout. After the class, I had a little time to myself and decided to go to the student union where I reunited with an old friend from middle school. It was lovely chatting with her. We had a friendly conversation where we caught up on what is going on in our lives. 

Monday continued, and the same process as Public Speaking went on for my last class, Spanish. I finished the class and was content with the day. I didn’t think it was as nervous as I should’ve been. I took a walk around campus where I later received my books, checked out the student union, and did a lot more. I got in my car and was ready to leave. 

The schedule then continued Tuesday where I had four classes that day, each with their own challenges for me just like the first day. The parking was not necessarily terrible compared to the first day, and as you could’ve guessed, the format from the first day repeated. Meet the teacher, go over the syllabus, maybe start a little bit of work and go on with the day. 

The rest of the week went by like a piece of cake! As a freshman, I was very pleased with the first week of college. Everybody at The University of Akron is very polite once you get to know them. The campus is beautiful, the walks are great, and truly it’s not as scary as most people think it is on the first day. I’m very happy to consider myself a zip!