Joseph Natividad

A Day in the Life of a College Student

I was finally back at school after over four relaxing months of summer break. It wasn?t a return to high school life but the beginning of my college career. It was both an intimidating and exciting day for me. I?ve never been in constant contact with so many people at once and finally being responsible for everything I had to do.

I?ve never been in a classroom or lecture hall filled with more than 40 students so being in the same room with 300 students was definitely something new. At first I didn?t realize that there were so many people filling the lecture hall where my Econ class was being held because I like to sit toward the front. (I have declared myself ?blind? and can?t see anything clearly more than ten feet away from me.) But as soon as I turned my head to look around, my jaw basically dropped to the floor. The place was filled to capacity and students that couldn?t find a seat were standing outside.

One interesting feature from the classes here at UCSD is the capability for teachers to create podcasts out of their lectures. As soon as their microphones turn on, everything they say is being recorded and will be available to students at http://podcast.ucsd.edu.

It?s amazing how much value the university places on being connected through the Internet and using computers to do the majority of our work. If I went to college ten years ago where wi-fi wasn?t commonplace and laptops were just starting to enter the mass market, this form of education probably wouldn?t be possible.

I am grateful for living such a privileged lifestyle as a freshman at one of the best universities in America. The awe I feel from my first day didn?t wear off when I woke up this morning. I couldn?t even wait to call my parents last night after a three hour long music and film class. The only thing I?m hoping for is to manage my time responsibly between my social life and what I need to do to in order to succeed in the classroom.

Tags: econ1, freshman, laptop, lecture, music-and-film, podcast, ucsd, wi-fi