During my first year at California State University, I have grown all around- as a student
and as an individual. My courses have left me enriched and humbled, and have taught me that
grades are earned not given. I am walking away from my first year well educated about my
future career in nursing, and have a solid sense of where I am heading. Dragging me down to my
worst yet managing to bring me up to my best, my first year as a freshman in college has taught
me everything from the way the heart functions to how to effectively work together in group
projects—this year has been interesting to say the least.
Though I could use a thousand and one to describe it, I can easily narrow my first year
down to three words: challenging, enriching, and humbling. Throughout high school, I always
held my head high. I was very academically inclined (or so I always believed). I took great pride
in being a student that took as many AP classes as possible while maintaining an above average
