Assessment
I have been at Princeton for a month. I'm really thankful for this month; if I hadn't come I wouldn't be nearly as prepared as I am now.
I've been participating in the Freshman Scholars Institute, a sort of academic boot camp. It's been the most intense six weeks of my academic career. They treated my mind like a house: it was comfortable, livable, good enough. It did what it needed to in terms of reading, writing, and thinking. I thought that FSI would be somewhat of a waste of time (mostly because I didn't know what to expect), but when I opened the course reader and looked at the first passage -- an excerpt from Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy -- I knew there was no way I was going to get by the same way I had in high school. I especially realized this after writing my first paper (oh, the C+). They ripped the floorboards out of my house. Over time though, I got used to it. I learned that there's not as much time to goof off/go off campus/take naps (I'm especially sad about the last one), but it was all for the best. I've basically had to start over in terms of critical thinking, but I'm completely okay with that now. I feel that, whatever I study here, I'll be better equipped to handle it.
Switching gears: I can't wait to start dancing again. I almost literally cannot. I'm already coming up with choreographic ideas. I just hope that finding the time for it all won't be too much.
I've been participating in the Freshman Scholars Institute, a sort of academic boot camp. It's been the most intense six weeks of my academic career. They treated my mind like a house: it was comfortable, livable, good enough. It did what it needed to in terms of reading, writing, and thinking. I thought that FSI would be somewhat of a waste of time (mostly because I didn't know what to expect), but when I opened the course reader and looked at the first passage -- an excerpt from Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy -- I knew there was no way I was going to get by the same way I had in high school. I especially realized this after writing my first paper (oh, the C+). They ripped the floorboards out of my house. Over time though, I got used to it. I learned that there's not as much time to goof off/go off campus/take naps (I'm especially sad about the last one), but it was all for the best. I've basically had to start over in terms of critical thinking, but I'm completely okay with that now. I feel that, whatever I study here, I'll be better equipped to handle it.
Switching gears: I can't wait to start dancing again. I almost literally cannot. I'm already coming up with choreographic ideas. I just hope that finding the time for it all won't be too much.