Week One at HU

After 10 hours and 639 miles I'd arrived at Howard University. Freshman week was over and now it was time to get down to business. My schedule was complete 3 classes Monday Wednesday Friday and 2 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Upon stepping onto the yard headed to my first class I felt an overwhelming amount of nervousness. All the upperclassmen on campus, it was like freshman year of high school all over again just amplified by 10. After Monday and Tuesday I was relieved. I was more sure of myself and my mom reassured me that everything would be alright. She was right as moms usually are, and I was able to breathe easy and calm my nerves. The following days left in the week I made realistic goals and expectations for myself.

As far as freshman seminar is concerned, I am very excited for this course. For majority of my life I have attended schools where I was a minority, now that I'm a majority I plan to take full advantage of it through freshman seminar. After reviewing the lectures scheduled for this semester I am most excited for is Abandonment and Dismemberment: "Something Torn and New". This lecture will be about Africans being snatched from their homelands to then be stripped of their culture and turned into slaves. I chose this section to be the most interesting because in my high school we were always taught a "white-washed" version of the truth. When it came down to learning African history it was overlooked and no one seemed to care. With that being said this lecture is the one I'm looking forward to the most.

So far all of my expectations have been met on campus. However I do wish that people were more friendly. I can honestly say that I am eagerly looking forward to the next three years here at Howard University.

My First Week of College

I can't believe I have actually finished my first week of college. At first I thought this process would be unbearable but so far it has turned out to be the opposite. Since I have completed my first week, I think it's going to be challenging but no more than what I can handle. Although some courses require more than others things seems to be balanced throughout this semester. What I mean by balanced is, I have breaks in between my classes where I can study and do homework for one class instead of having to complete everything at the same time.

After reading the syllabus, I expect Freshmen Seminar to help broaden my knowledge on the cultural life of African peoples throughout the Diaspora. What was exciting to me was to actually go look up the word Diaspora. I was so enthused to look this word up because I've never heard the word before. So from the very beginning of class I was learning something new.

The lecture that seems to be more interesting is about Abandonment and Dismemberment: "Something Torn and New". This lecture will be about Africans being forced from their homelands due to enslavement. I chose this section to be the most interesting because in high school I was never taught the importance of this topic. When it came down to learning African history it was talked about as if it wasn't important. With that being said this lecture is also the one I'm looking forward to the most.

The goals and objectives for this course seems like it will make my future goals a success. Since I'm not a very sociable person the class will allow me to be more outgoing and enable me to think independently instead of agreeing with everything the professor says.

So far my expectations have been met. Just by the criteria of each class will prepare me for my future goals. Howard allows students to think freely and participate in activities that are not offered at other universities.

Niesha Bush

My Very First Week

    This week has been eventful to say the least. Not only have we been catapulted from freshman week into  the life of a real college student, but we've also had two natural disasters to go along with it. If I had to predict what the rest of my freshman year will be like based on what I have endured so far this week, I would have to say most of all it will be stressful. Not only is being a Chemistry major challenging in itself, but I am also an honors student.  I have been assigned numerous homework assignments in each of my classes already and I am trying hard to remain social while still striving for a 4.0 GPA. That is not to say that my goal is impossible. I will have to have a wealth of time management skills to accomplish everything I would like to this year.
   What do I expect of Freshman Seminar? Honestly, I do not expect much. Although, I believe this class will be beneficial to my growth as a person, I am finding it hard to juggle both my core curriculum as well as my electives. I can handle getting up and going to class once a week, but finding time to do the blogs and meet with my group will be challenging.
    My expectations for life at Howard have been more than met. I'll admit, Howard was far from my first choice; but, having been here for two weeks I couldn't see myself anywhere else. Coming from a catholic, predominately white school, I thought it would be a struggle to fit in. Contrary to my initial beliefs, I feel right at home. I am constantly meeting people that I believe will end up being great lifelong friends. The professors I have, while challenging, seem to truly care about the success of their student. I feel as though I have a lot of academic support and a multitude of people who are here to help me be successful in all my endeavors.
    Overall, I believe this academic year will be a good one. It will be full of hardships, and not knowing when I'm going to get adequate sleep or how I'm going to get everything done on time. But I have faith in myself and know I will do well.

Kristen Bailey

Freshman Seminar first entry

Wow, I can't believe I'm actually here in college. I know as kids we always say to ourselves ," I'm going to college when I get older", but for most that statement never becomes a reality.

Looking at my first week here at Howard University, I still haven't fully grasped the concept of my being here. It feels as though I'm away at camp and my parents will soon come back for me. In actuality, this is my future and now is where it really begins. I am no longer a child and everything I do here at this university will determine all my later decisions in life.

I was told to write in this blog what were my first thoughts of Freshman Seminar and I'm assuming my TA would like the truth. So, here's the truth. In all honesty, when I first saw the class " Freshman Seminar" on the banner when I was back home in Smyrna, Tennessee, I thought " So what could this possibly be about. What are they gonna do? Teach us about the campus? Teach us the do's and don'ts of college? Is this class student ran? " I had completely NO idea of what Freshman Seminar could be about. Then once I came on campus and my roommate had the class, I assumed it was going to be a dumb class. I was going solely off her opinion. As I sat in the class though, and heard the instructor go over the different lectures we were going to be studying, I soon became interested in the course.

Coming from a majority white community, and never have lived in a majority black area, I had never really studied the African culture and learned about my homeland. A word the instructor said stuck to me like glue and that was Mbongi. She said that Mbongi meant "a room without walls", so basically everyone in the class was to be open with each other as well as the instructors and speakers. So I immediately saw myself asking millions of questions in the lectures to come. One lecture I found interesting was Abandonment and Dismemberment: Something torn and New". The title seems as though something tragic has happen when really, something amazing was carried on. The lecture discusses keeping tradition. I am really looking forward to this lecture.

In the end, I'm actually looking forward to Freshman Seminar. I feel as though it was meant to teach me not how to be a freshman, but to be a well rounded African- American, and to do that I must not focus solely on my major, but learn about my background and my culture. I feel as though Howard University will not only prepare me for my profession that I wish to persue, but also prepare me to be a successful black woman in the world.