#6 Adjusting to SDSU

Hiii everyone!

I hope everyone had a splendid weekend. I do not know about you but I most certainly love love love October. I feel like carving pumpkins so badly and going to the pumpkin patch. These were the pumpkins my boyfriend and I carved last year. So much fun but man my hand was sore after! I just wish San Diego had more of the seasons. It has been so dang hot lately. All I really want to do is bundle up in a cosy blanket with a cup of coffee and read a book. I want to see the leaves of all different colors fall down and take one of those classic pictures just laying in the leaves...a girl can dream.
SO anyyyyywaayyyy so so so dang off topic but just thought I would share the thoughts that were bouncing in my head.

On that note....adjusting to SDSU.

Well like what we read in Ann John's article, there is what she calls a cost of affiliation when a student becomes apart of an academic discourse community. Saying that in order for a student to fully succeed and become a thriving member of an academic discourse community, one must make family life less significant.

I do see the point in what John is saying but in my own experiences, I still have the same relationship with family since I started going to grade school. Maybe because I technically never really had that "college experience" staying in the dorms away from my parents where I really had no choice but to distance myself from them. Been living with them all 21 years. Even with attending community college and now SDSU, being apart of this academic discourse community my family and I are still connected.

I first started college at Palomar in San Marcos. Although Palomar is a much smaller campus, and does not have all the amenities a university like SDSU has to offer, academically I feel like it is the exact same. I thought coming into this university that classes would be significantly harder than my community college. But you know what it really is not. School is school. College is college. So adjusting to SDSU academically I have not been having a problem. But socially...that has taken some adjusting.

Map of Palomar
(much much much smaller)

I spent 3 years at Palomar. I got used to the campus, knew my way around and I knew people from all the classes I have taken. I saw familiar faces everywhere. It made me feel like I had a sense of belonging. My first day at SDSU it was so strange not to see one familiar face. I did not have that comfort in feeling like I belonged. Although as the day went on I felt less nervous, I still did not know anyone.

As the weeks are continuing to progress, I am starting to recognize faces around campus and people that are in my class. It is nice to get a friendly smile and wave! I see Sam and Jules (from our class) around campus and it makes me happy! Plus I have been making some friends I eat lunch with like Ensephany and Joel (also from our class) and some other gals from my classes.

So I am not sure where I am really going with this but over all academically I think I am adjusting to SDSU just fine. Palomar really prepared me to transfer to a university and I am so grateful for that. My family is still a huge part of my life and I think no matter what discourse community I join, I will always want them around to share it with me.

S/O to my new friends and people who smile and wave at me! It makes me feel happy!

Xoxo,
Allison Starr