University of Miami Top Questions

Attending college has made me realize how important stepping out of my comfort zone is. Being in a new place, with new faces, new environment and new people overall is amazing and is undescribable. For everyone that is worried that they will not fit in, they will either find a place to fit in, or learn that maybe that is not the most important thing. While I am sure everyone experiences days of loneliness from being in a new place, this is when you learn the most about yourself and what truly gets you through the day. College is not only about academics, but it's also about self sufficiency. I have learned that I am the only one who can make myself do anything, and I am the only one who can make myself happy. I am the only person here at this school who can convince myself that happiness is where I find it, not where other people tell me to find it, and that is the beauty of college.

When I began my college experience at the University of Miami, I expected to face challenges in my studies that would lead to a better understanding of my course material and of what would be expected of me in my hopeful career as a Psychologist. I worked very dilligently and felt accomplished when I recieved mostly A's. As my time here has grown, however, I have realized that being here at this point in my life means so much more than classes and grades and even graduation. What I have really gained here is a passion for life and a desire to learn everything that I can about this beautiful world and the people living in it that I never knew I had before. This school has inspired me to take chances and truly make a difference in my life and in the lives of others. Were it not for the University of Miami, I would not have discovered what I truly find valuble in education: a realization of life's greatest potentials and how each person can be a part of that.

So far, my college experience has not been the best. This is because I attended a different school previously. There was no school spirit like there is at the University of Miami. Nobody talked to you in the halls, it was a different atmosphere. Even for an orientation at UM everybody is so friendly that you just can't wait to be a part if it! I hope to have a good time and receive a valuable education. The reason I'm attending is for education isn't it? Being able to have great proffessors and an amazing time with all of the activities will make my College experience one to remember. I'm sure of it.

Culture and opportunities. The university has allowed me to meet intelligent individuals from different cultures and academic concentrations. This has allowed me to become a well rounded individual with a broader view on the world. I have become more tolerant to others and their beliefs. Coming from a city in which most of its citizens are of my nationality (Cuban), is hard to come across individuals of different nationalities, religions, and political views. Thanks to my college experience (in specific, the University of Miami), I have become more comfortable of views in regards life which are different from mine. The university has also opened numerous doors with great opportunities within my field of study and my personal growth. I have been able to participate in volunteering programs which have taught me of different social issues within the country such as immigration. I have also been provided with programs which have prepared me for Medical School and the application process. In addition, the university has also offered research opportunities within multiple fields. Thanks to my university and the college experience, I can say that I have become a more tolerant and knowledgeable person, and a citizen of the world.

Out of my college experience the one thing I can say for sure that I have learned the most would have to be perseverance. I?ve learned that sometimes things will go my, and most of the other times they won?t go my way and the only way things will go back my way is if I work hard and push through whatever problems I have at the time to succeed in my future. I have learned that perseverance is what my college professors, parents, Doctors, Fireman, and even the President of the United States has used in their lives to get where they currently are and as we are all human I believe that perseverance is exactly what also need and have implemented in my life to progress as an Engineer. I also have learned a few others things like Responsibility, Time Managment, Reliability, and a whole array of other imporant qualities and before I enrolled in College I was taught to move forward with anything that would benefit me in life and all these qualities will benefit me so I will not lost sight of goals using these qualities.

During these last two years, I?ve been awake more than asleep and read more pages than I did my entire school career from elementary school to high school and every year I leave feeling the same way. Each summer, I feel like I?ve learned nothing and all those sleepless nights were only so that I could pass a test. So I start wondering, why am I doing this? Then I work alongside professionals in the health field and instantly I feel like everything I read in those books were actually imprinted somewhere in my mind just waiting to come out and I feel good. I feel like I belong and those sleepless nights weren?t a complete waste. By the time fall rolls around again, I know why I?m doing this and why it?s so valuable. Through all these sleepless nights, classes, social experiences, and all these viewpoints being presented to me while I?m in college, I?m getting a better understanding of who I want to be and where I want to be in life.

College has been an enormous learning experience for me. I was a girl that was sheltered in high school and didn't realize what the world entailed. As I went to college I learned that you and you alone are responsible for your actions. College for me was a taste of the real world in the sense that you must be self-sufficient by doing things like your own laundry, cook, make friends, and be responsible of your time. I also learned that how well I do in classes depends on how much effort I put into my work. Often times on Saturdays when people would go out, I would study, or if I had studied all week, I would bring my study cards with me. Friends would often remind me to balance the fun and work, and I have. I have also had the opportunity to volunteer which has been a continued passion for me from high school. It allows me to thinking about taking things for granted in my life. These experience are what the real world is about. Without exposure in a college environment, I don't know if I would have been prepared.

As my freshman year at the University of Miami comes to an end, I find it natural to reflect on what insight I have gained this year. And the overall message I gathered this year was not to think, but to focus. Everyone at the University of Miami is able to think; students think about bills, grades, exams, and parties, each thought tugs at their attention and quickly clouds their minds. But, I have found seldom students who have learned how to focus; focusing allows students to take their thoughts and channel them into useful actions. At the beginning of the year I was an avid thinker, because I let my thoughts dictate my life as opposed to the thoughts being dictated by myself. Somewhere along the way, it clicked, and I became a student who could focus. Focus on my studies, focus on my organizations, focus on truly experiencing freshman year. This valuable lesson has made me a better student, and I can now be in command of my thoughts. As I reflect on my freshman year, I focus on this lesson that I am glad to have learned.

I feel that at the University of Miami, I truly am able to achieve whatever goals I set for myself. UM is big enough to have a wealth of academic resources to offer students, while small enough that I feel like a person who my professors and advisors care about, rather than just another face around campus. While tuition costs a pretty penny and it can be frustrating at times, I've been given opportunities here that I would not be able to find at most other schools.I've been able to spend my days conducting research with my faculty mentor in the psychology department, and nights organizing a clothing drive for the homeless. Another thing I love about the U is the balance I've been able to achieve, academically and socially. My classes challenge me to think in ways I've never had to before, but on the weekend I'm still able to enjoy myself at football games with my friends. 200 words really isn't enough to describe the value of my education- in just the two years I've been at the U it's opened doors for me I never even knew existed.

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on. " That quote by Robert Frost has changed my perspective on so many things as I have matured and found myself more comfortable with myself. That quote serves as a paradigmatic representation of the unnecessary burdens and stress that I put on myself while trying to make a college decision during my senior year and the fact that I should have recognized that I could have been incredibly satisfied and happy with whatever choice I did make. Without a doubt, I am glad I chose the University of Miami, and my fascination with that quote and that approach to life has resulted from my time here, but if I had only known that sooner and been able to apply it to the earlier aspects of my life, there would be no telling where I would be in the world right now. But since I can't go back in time, I shall just continue to apply it to my life now and make the best of it.