Tag: college experience
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Hey, World: I Am Immigrant and I Graduated College
In the spring of 2012, I unpacked bags and sat on a bed I shared with my mother, a bed inside a room rented through a former friend in the Falls Church area. I had returned from my first year at a small liberal arts school, Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. I had returned…
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1,000 miles: step 79
The fall semester is now over. I have submitted “finals,” known as projects to the English major. Grades are coming in. I have gaps of time–yes, time. It has all gone by so fast. This semester I made a savvy choice, and I took all poetry classes: a small-sized workshop, a course taught in Spanish,…
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1,000 miles: step 69
So I’m here again. Staring at a blank screen. I’ve been meaning to get here for over weeks. … For three months, I’ve been preoccupied with school and work (but mostly work). I spent the summer building up anxiety about this semester. And it wasn’t bad. I got out fairly decent. Reunited with old friends.…
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1,000 miles: step 68
Dear reader, We last left off with my anticipation for coming months. We pick up again with the same feelings, new experiences. Over the course of 2 weeks, I’ve said good-bye to my one and only wisdom tooth, money in the bank, and peace of mind. I’ve said hello to George Mason University after anxious…
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1,000 miles: step 67- the tuition monster
Some of us believe in monsters, hiding under beds. Quite harmless manifestations of childhood fears. I know a more hated, detrimental monster. The Tuition Monster was born of grown up children’s financial nightmares. Escaping this monster isn’t easy; it comes with the price of education. I know not all people are living under this monster’s shadows. But some of us…
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1,000 miles: step 54
As a fall 2013 graduate of Northern Virginia Community College, it has been my task for over a month now to find myself a job. Job seeking with an Associate’s Degree and little experience in the field of teaching is problematic. As consolation, I remind myself that a number of people have gone through unemployment and survived.…
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1,000 miles: step 40
Like all summers (and winter breaks), now that school is right around the corner, it feels like my days are flying past at 65 miles per hour–and that’s too fast for me. I know because that’s the speed that drives me insane whenever Mom puts me on the freeway. This summer, I started working a…
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1,000 miles: step 35
Dear reader, today I walked outside, facing a wind of some 17 miles per hour–it was probably much higher, that or I’m too much of a feather. It was then I realized I picked a wrong day to wear my hair loose. And so, I propose someone invent windshield glasses for those breezy days when…
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1,000 miles: step 32
With two weeks left in this spring semester, it is no wonder my days are getting shorter. (And I wouldn’t be totally off since mother nature still has days it believes winter hasn’t left Virginia). I don’t care much for these final days of school; they’re intended to stress out the already stressed out college student. But…
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1,000 miles: step 20
Last semester, I applied to Hollins University, an extremely small and private liberal arts school. It simply echoed the education I received at Simon’s Rock. Hollins, however, has a lot more going for it. What caught my eye the most was its strong creative writing program and its closeness to home. Hollin’s in Roanoke, Virginia,…
Claudia Rojas 