My life has changed a lot in the past three years. I’ve grown so much and I’ve started a new phase in my life: college. The past six months have been great and I’ve learned so much from interacting with many different people and from class discussions. College is a very exciting experience and my classes are going well. By the way, I am attending City College of San Francisco.
Right now, I am taking four classes: Calculus I, English Composition, Music, and History. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs throughout the semester. In the beginning of the semester I felt like my classes were hard and the grading system was stabbing a knife in my back. Eventually, I realized that I wasn’t putting enough effort into my classes. As I spent more time studying and doing homework, the lectures seemed easier to understand. Everything became less complicated and I began enjoying my classes.
The class that I enjoyed the most this semester was Calculus, which I’ve had five days a week. I gotta be honest, though. It wasn’t easy in the beginning! With patience and determination, however, I got the concepts down and everything just made sense. The equations became solvable! Some new math words I’ve added to my vocabulary are: derivatives, integrals, limits, and tangents. Now that is knowledge-enrichment! I am really enjoying my Calculus class so much that I am going to take Calculus II next semester!
I also got to meet a lot of cool and different people! Everyone is unique and all have different life goals. That inspires me! I haven’t really decided my major yet. Music class was very dramatic in the first weeks because I started out by flunking my first music exam. I know it is just music. How could I fail it? That was so lame! I felt really stupid and I even thought about dropping the class. So I had a talk with the instructor and I decided to stay in the class. Guess what happened with the next exam? I scored the highest grade. Well, that sure made me feel better. After that I learned my lesson. The key to ace a music class is all about listening to the CDs assigned.
My history teacher is such a funny guy. He fought in the Korean War and I think he is about 90 years old. Oh, he is from the “silent generation.” But the guy is never silent; believe me, he can go on and on! My English teacher is a cool guy, but very strict when it comes to correcting papers. They must be perfectly done. No grammar errors. I like to write essays but the grammar just kills me. This entry proves it! Overall, I like all my classes. My classes have an average of 35 people. It makes it easier for students to interact with instructors.
I have gotten to meet really nice people here at City as I mentioned before. And by the way I met a new Brazilian friend. It was kind of unexpected! Well, I knew this girl from my Calculus class and one day I was waiting in the restroom line and talking to her in English. Suddenly, I realized that I did not know her name, and decided to ask her. Bingo! That was my moment of realization; she has a very common Portuguese name and I obviously had to tell her that I was Brazilian because she would never have figured that out. Since then, we became very nice friends. She is from Sao Paulo, the same city that I am from. That is so cool! Now, I have a new buddy to watch the World Cup with next year! Let me be clear, though, I am not replacing Amanda [Wolffenbuttel, former scholarship recipient].
My first entry of the year, in the last month of the year! That’s a good way to say goodbye to a year of so much work. I am really thankful for all the good things that have happened to me and that includes being a part of 826 Valencia. I am still living in San Francisco. I am still thinking about my major. I still have to take finals and they are next week. I hope to make you guys proud. I hope all the others are having a good time and passing their classes. See you guys next year, and enjoy the break.
Rosa Chan
