Another semester is at an end here at JSC. Finals week is on the way and, amidst the studying for exams, students are perhaps taking a look back on their semester, maybe comparing it to other semesters they have experienced, and deciding on what they will do differently next semester. However, this year’s freshman are looking back on their first semester of college. Some of them are coming to the end of this new experience with a lot of mixed emotions.

 
Karina Williams speaks of her experience as a freshman this fall: “Being a freshman has been interesting. I was really scared at first because I didn’t know if I was going to make friends.”

 
She moved into a suite full of sophomores and juniors, unsure of if they would like her or if she would be ignored and shut out. As she started her journey here at Johnson, she waded into a sea of “what ifs” and doubt.

 
Another freshman, Beth Davis, describes her semester as interesting and fun. However, she also looks back on the flaws in her semester thus far. “I found it very frustrating at times because whenever I got things done there was more stuff to do,” she says. “I never got a break.”

 
Like many freshmen, and most likely some upperclassmen as well, this semester had its moments of being overwhelming. For Davis, her semester included taking 16.5 credits. “It was very crazy,” she says.
Though the semester may have been rough for some, it still has had its silver linings.

 
Davis says she had fun, and was given opportunities to become more outgoing and was introduced to all the positives that Johnson has to offer.

 
For Williams, the highlights of her semester resolved many of the fears and doubts she had about entering the JSC community in the first place. The suitemates she thought would not like her ended up being some of her “best friends at Johnson,” as she describes them.

 
“Classes are going really well. Overall, college has been a lot easier than I thought,” Williams says. “I have great friends and great teachers, and I go to a great school.”

 
So far, these two freshman have not only started their college journey at JSC, but they have put down roots in the Johnson community through the friendships they have made and the work they have put in towards their classes. As these students look at their first semester in review, they see the ups and downs they have gone through along the way, knowing that there is much more excitement to come from the next few years they have at Johnson. Before they jump into their next adventure, the spring semester, they still have three more weeks to finish strong. After looking at their semester in review, it is time for them to look at their coursework in review as they prepare for their first finals week at JSC.