H.U First Experience

Upon my arrival here, I expected the first week as a Howard University student would be the beginning of an experience which would surpass that of any one’s imagination. What I quickly came to realize, is for the next year, Howard would be an array of opportunity, motivation, enthusiasm, and knowledge. Freshmen week may have been a little overrated but all in all it was a time worth experiencing. I met a range of diverse people, got plenty of good food, attended various informational sessions and enjoyed many of the festivities.

After my first Freshmen Seminar, I was still uncertain as to what the class would offer my fellow classmates and I. The session definitely gave us a good overview; however there will be much more to learn about the course and its workload. From what I know so far, I expect Freshmen Seminar will provide us the essential tools needed to facilitate our studies. I also feel the two lectures about Black Diaspora and “Omoluabi: Self Actualization and Communal Responsibility” will be the most interesting.

Now that I have completed my first week of classes, I think college will be beneficial to my ambitions, character and growth. Just in this past week Howard has lived up to my expectations and I hope this will be the onset of a good year.  

Culture Shock

Up-town “swag”, Caribbean accents, conversations on the yard ranging from party moves to black Marxism are what I remember when reminiscing on my first week at Howard University two years ago. It was a culture shock coming from a predominantly white boarding high school and being considered a minority. However, it was a pleasant change of scenery. I had never been surrounded by so many people who were all the same based on skin-color yet were all so different when you consider many other factors. The culture shock wasn’t just because everyone was black. The culture shock was seeing the dramatic range of actual cultures infused in the campus population. All throughout my first week I kept meeting people with different personalities, different styles than my own, different accents than my own, different political opinions, religious beliefs, and social ideals.

Because of my interest in the culture of the student body, I am most excited to participate in the freshmen seminar lectures on the black Diaspora, and the African world experience. Even sitting in freshman seminar this week I could look around and be reminded how beautifully different we all are, yet how we all have similar goals in pursuing education. I can imagine that the rest of my college experience will continuously inspire me to learn as much as I can from those surrounding me both in and outside the classroom. My only goal coming in to Howard is to graduate with a feeling of purpose. I know that being active in my learning experience here and in this seminar will help me towards that.

My First Week At Howard

I think being at Howard will be a learning experience for me. Attending my first week of classes has shown me that I will need effective time management skills to juggle classes, homework, free time, and food! I never really had to decide for myself when to eat lunch or dinner. It's a little empowering almost because I get to decide when I feed myself. At the same time, It gets weird and I don't know what to do with myself. I'm sort of a sheltered, spoiled kid, so having all this independence is definately a shock.

Freshman week was extremely intimidating. There were so many new poeple and I get nervous around new people. Fortunately, practically everyone at Howard is welcoming and made me feel at ease. My first expectation of Howard was that it was going to be ghetto, with rude and disrespectful students. I was pleasently surprised to see that Howard and its students are far from it. As a matter of fact, its comforting to be around so many fellow African-Americans with ambitions to better their education and their lives. Just walking in the triumphant atmosphere of this university, gives me an apetite to do the same. I think that is what I love most about this place. Its that being here makes me want to do great things. Aside from the imidiate culture shock, this past week has been one of development, awakening, and inspiration. I beilieve I'm ready to take on what this university has to offer.

The Real HU

When I first came to Howard I knew my goals and I thought finally here's somewhere where people were driven and dedicated about their school work just like me. During my two weeks I discovered why Howard University was the Real HU! I knew a little about Howard because my sister attended when I was first born. All she does is talk about HU and how the school impacted her life. She told me it was the best decision she made and the place where she met most of her current close friends at. She said Howard was a great place for networking and an great education.

I was frustrated during my last year of high school because only a select few students really cared about being there and were goal driven like me. When I arrived on campus it was like something totally different. I saw people from all different states and countries. The fashions were so diverse.I was a little scared because I didn't know anyone here. I was the only one from my school to come. Even being a social person, it was still a little scary talking to new people. After a few days, I was making friends quickly and always talking to new people. I became close to my roommate and suite mates. I almost feel like I have known them for a longtime. I was nervous at first about classes because I didn't know what to expect. Of course the load was more, but it could be done.

I love the freedom. I finally get to do what I want when I want. I thought Freshman Week was a lot of fun and really helped me get adjusted to college life. Campus Pals Program also helped because I had my campus pal's number before arriving on campus. So I had someone I could ask questions and contact about HU. When classes began, I felt like I had been going to classes at Howard for months.

When I first walked into Freshman Seminar I thought "this is a lot of people". I didn't know what to expect from the class, I didn't really even know what it was about. After the introduction of the class, I realized that the class was a lot more in depth then I thought. I think that this class will help me in my education because it will help me develop character and give me a better understanding of my self and my responsibility as an African-American and to the community. I know that I'm a little bit bugged about groups and projects because I like working alone. I work well with groups, I just prefer to work by myself. I will see how the group will go.

Most of my expectations of Howard was met. I know that I will get a excellent education here and I love the atmosphere. Of course there were a few disappointments about organization and administration: problems scheduling classes, not knowing who my roommate was before arriving, long wait periods to get things done ect... I also had a few surprises with the earthquake and tropical storm from Hurricane Irene. Whew, what a week!

I believe I made the right choice by coming to Howard University and Im proud to be a part of its legacy.

The Next Step

My first week at "The Real HU" was very exciting. To be so honest, it was a big culture shock for me. I had never been around so many young black people that had goals that they had set for themselves and are here to reach that goal. Being around a positive environment such as this makes you want to achieve more for yourself, it motivates you. my old high school was not like that, but it is something I can get used to. Everyone here is so helpful and nice, it makes you feel so comfortable going up to someone and asking them for directions or something of that nature. My class that I like the most so far is my Intro to Political Science class with Dr. Harris. It is the only class that I'm taking for my major this semester and it is very interesting. I hope that it will further inform me of the field I plan to go into.