Reflections of a Freshman

This year flew by. It had its fair share of ups and downs as I gained a feel for not only the campus, but life on my own, and away from home.

But I would not change anything, because otherwise I may have been led along a different path.

It feels like just yesterday that I was jumping up and down because I had just received my acceptance letter from UNC Asheville. As soon as I had been accepted, I researched all that I could do to meet new people because that's the great thing about new towns and new schools. I found out more about these "Pre-Rendezblue"(http://transition.unca.edu/pre-rendezblue) activities when I attended orientation. But in quick summary, Pre-Rendezblue includes different activities aimed towards rising freshman that you can join for about a week before the start of school in Asheville and go on trips, eat great food, and so on. All of the groups' interests are extremely diverse. Being a city girl, I wanted to try camping, but not "hard-core-sleep-on-the-ground" camping. So I signed up for "Blue Ridge Sampler" which involved all the great outdoor activities with a shelter base camp included.
It was an amazing weeklong experience that I would not have missed. I started the first day of classes with new friends, and to this day continue to be best friends with some of the people I met.
Pre-Rendezblue is a must for any rising freshman.

A circle of Chacos - our shoes prepared for our adventures.

A day of canoeing included seeing the Biltmore Estate. 

Got to the top and celebrated the accomplishment.

When people ask me what my major is, it is a hard question to answer because I barely have a clue as a rising sophomore. But that is the beauty of being at a liberal arts school like UNC Asheville. In high school I would constantly switch between career ideas, and this trait carried on through to this year. I started school wanting to do photography or photojournalism, tried my hand at art classes, then really got into just writing, and am now into health classes. What continually changed my mind were two main factors. The first factor being that UNC Asheville requires students to take classes in each area, such as math, science, and literature, in order to create a well-rounded individual. The other major factor was the faculty. My teachers this year have been amazing in teaching me the material, answering my career questions, and helping me discover my strengths.

This year has flown by... Made great friendships and connections that were only strengthened through fun activities, not only on campus, but within walking distance of campus too.

Rollerskating night on campus. 

Local Greek festival, the food made the easy walk even easier. 

Met the producer of the "Batman" movies, Michael Uslan when he visited campus. 

School spirit with Rocky the mascot at a basketball game. 

Night yoga class on campus to calm down after a long day. 

Spring is welcomed in with a 90s themed lawn party! 

Everyone handles stress differently. Some eat more, some work out, some just clam up and be silent. However, no matter your preferred coping strategy, everyone love dogs. Around the time of exams, the campus has therapy dogs come and sit in an area, open and free for any student to come and spend some quality time with these loving canines. Most of the students have pets back home and miss them, so these dogs are not only helping calm students down from schoolwork, but also mitigate any homesickness.

When I first came to Asheville, I was impartial to the cold. However after a winter here, I actually prefer the cold to the heat now. There is just something magical and comforting to me about the briskness of the air when you first step outside into the snow, you feel your cheeks reddening, and see the warmth of your breath mixing in the air around you. A little snow never slowed down my friends and I. However, it was not all cold and snowing. A lot of the weather involved cherry blossoms, green grass, and afternoons sitting out in the quad listening to people play instruments or the birds chirping as you take a nap or study.

Fire Leaves.

Cold, but determined to get to the gym. 

Some much welcome blossoms. 

Ramsey library at its finest on a gorgeous day. 

Bustling day in the quad. 

With all of this said, it has been a year jam-packed with amazing opportunities, all of which have helped me grow as a new college student. I cannot wait for next year in order to add onto my college memories along with figuring out more about who I am, and who I want to be.

*As the summer break takes place, the school blog will also take a break, and will have new writings at the start of the school year.