Cover Letter

December 13, 2011

Dear Marguerite,

  My first year of college has been like taking a trip to a completely new world.  Well, actually it's more like moving to Mars, but I'm sure that the point still rests with the same effect.  It's been a difficult but interesting experience throughout its duration.  In high school and prior, I was really quiet and it was impossible for me to open up to anyone at all.  Now that I'm in college, I really don't have to deal with being bullied like I always have been, so my only fear is judgment.  Even that, however, has subsided just a bit.  I'm talking to people about school work more than ever now, and in a lot of cases, I'm more willing to share my opinions and things that I have written as responses for assignments. Also, if someone needs help, I am more willing to do so.  This is a huge contrast to previous times when I would take a 0 on presentations solely because I was too shy to actually do it.

  My learning and study habits are actually quite different now.  I never used to take notes on anything, and I never used to study for quizzes and tests.  I always slacked off until it was either too late or almost so.  Because of this, I did well in some classes and nearly failed in others.  I never really made the connection that I was running completely off course as I did this, but ever since I started college, I've been learning to fix that mistake.  The fact that I'm here is enough of a motivator for me to do well, because I know that I'm in the process of making decisions that will affect the rest of my life.

  My biggest challenge this semester has definitely been learning not to procrastinate.  I've always had this problem, and it's more acceptable to stick with this habit in high school and middle school than it is to have it in college.  I'm doing the same amount of work in one semester of college that I did in a whole year of high school.  To add to that, the work is actually immensely more difficult.  There is simply no room to put off any of it.  Still, I'm struggling with the need to procrastinate, and I am working on pushing it away entirely.  It's going to take a while since I've done this for so long, but I believe that I can do it.  Next semester, I will work on it much more extensively, and I will do my best to overcome it.

  For this course specifically, I think I put in a fair amount of effort.  I don't believe that it was all of my effort, but I know I did a lot for it.  I could have definitely put more effort into it had I not focused on doing unimportant things after getting all of my work done for other classes instead of doing work for FYE.

  My initial self-assessment was barely different from my final one.  I don't believe that there is anything that I didn't know previously that I know now.  As a person, I still view myself the same way, and I always knew how to study and work effectively, but I never applied it.  I've always been aware that I am responsible for my own actions, and this is why it's been really difficult for me to have changed at all on this self-assessment.  I still become stressed over small things, and I have a hard time controlling my anxiety.  Also, there has never been a doubt about what I want from college and the fact that I place a lot of value on acquiring my degree.  I've always been aware that i have to work toward things that I want, and self-discipline has been my only motivator to achieve what I want.  I suppose that one thing that has improved is my ability to write down things that I need to remember.  I never took the time prior to this semester.  I realize now that it's essential.  In other areas, I am still disorganized.  I would most like to improve in my organization skills as well as communicating with people.

  Overall, this semester has been a great new experience, and FYE has been one of my favorite courses in all aspects.

Sincerely,

Chryss Speranza