Words From the Dog's

From a Fellow Bulldog 

Image From https://www.texasfootball.com/team/texas-lutheran-bulldogs

By: Tempestt Flaggs 

Freshman Year

        During freshman year I can remember attending orientation and meeting current seniors telling us that we will be in their shows one day. I  remember seeing my degree plan for the first time thinking, "There is no way I will finish all this." It was a scary time for me and everyone else. We were still naive teens that were fortunate enough to make it to college. For the first time in my life, my destiny was in my full control. On the first days of my classes, the professor was sweet and they made the semester seem like it was going to be as easy as 1-2-3. Then I was hit with my first 2,000-word assignment. How was I ever going to finish this, there was no way. I haven't had homework since sixth grade. This seemed manageable on the first day of class but now not so much.  I lacked time management and there was a big world out there for me to explore instead of doing that kind of homework. I questioned if school was even worth it this year. Many of the peers I started with had begun to drop out and pursue different life ventures. But somehow I manage and made it to my Sophmore year. 

Sophomore Year

        I actually had a lot more hope for myself sophomore year. I had not dropped out like many people suspected me to do. To be honest, this year really flow by quick and it was not because the schoolwork was easy. My first semester went by like the first two, a lot of walking, many new faces, and nasty food. This is the year I met one of my favorite professors, Dr. Lutze. We did not know how good we had it the first semester of sophomore year. Especially for me, I took a lot of things for granted. But,  the second I was humbled. We made it to spring break, but most of my peers left and went on well-needed vacations. But we did not know that those goodbyes were going to be our last for a while. Covid took us from our warm-loving classroom to cold monitors. This is when I lost my drive to learn. There was less motivation around me. I had no one to study with, so I spent much of the time procrastinating. Our professors were struggling to transition their materials into an online class. This was a stressful time for everyone because we struggled to even socialize. But somehow I made it through and continued into my Junior year.

Junior Year

        The first semester of Junior year was like the end of the second-semester sophomore year. I would wake up and zoom into two to three classes a day. One thing that I hated to do was typing and here I was doing it every day. Most of the time I would put my homework off because I felt like I had all day to do it. But the day would go by and I had not even looked at any of it. This semester I spent much of my time on Tic Toc and Netflix. I waited until the last minute to do everything. By the second semester, there was hope for us to return to normal and that was the biggest motivator to stay in college. Returning to campus was so weird because all had masks on and couldn't sit next to each other. Even though things were weird I was thankful to be back in person. Online school was a nightmare for me. Just because we were back in a regular class setting did not mean the work would be easier. I just had way more alys around me. This gave me a little motivation to do my homework. But my old friend, procrastination was always in my corner. But this is the year I stop seeing college as a chore. I actually started enjoying learning again. I could actually see myself as a graduate now. So I continued to my Senior year.

Senior Year

         At the start of senior, I was doing great. I was only nine classes away from the finish line. But some of the classes were very challenging. I went down a rabbit hole wondering if it will ever end. But some things that kept me motivated were my modules which were Cooking with Shook and Get Your Financial Life in Order. Cooking has been something have enjoyed since I was a little girl. A financial health class should be something that everyone should be taking during high school. I pushed myself and somehow made it to my final semester of college. At the beginning of the second semester, I was determined not to fall behind because this was the one semester that I could not mess up. But my best friend's procrastination came back like she always does. She brought a friend with her named, "Senioridis". They were difficult to shack off. But somehow I manage them. I had a pretty successful semester. I had the top company in my business strategy class and I would've never seen myself in that position in a million years. I took this semester day by day and now I am here at the end of the road. This a bittersweet goodbye to my school and the amazing professors I was privileged to learn from.