Eric Berg
PDP 450
Reflective essay
December 28, 2015
The bittersweet journey of my eventful collegiate career is coming to a close
at the end of the spring semester. In some ways it feels as if I just recently finished
selecting classes for my very first semester. Many people told me prior to college
that the time flies by, and they could not have been more right. Each year my life as a
college student has seemed to only steadily increase and become more chaotic. To
say my college career has been smooth sailing would be overreaching. I began my
adventure at Christopher Newport University, then Blue Ridge CC, then New River
CC, and finally Bridgewater. During my journey I have learned many things inside
the classroom that have helped contribute to my intellectual growth and knowledge.
I have also learned many things outside of the classroom that have shaped me into
the person that I am today. While traveling on the extensive path that is college, I
have grown intellectually and made fascinating discoveries about others and myself.
I have been taught information that has helped increase my academic citizenship
and has awakened my community responsibility. I have learned and witnessed
many things that have helped solidify my ethical development. My wellness has
dramatically improved and I have set higher and more challenging goals for myself.
I will be further discussing and examining these four dimensions and how they have
impacted me both as a college student and a human being.
I will be turning 23 years old in late January and I am amazed by how
positively different I am from when I was 18. My intellectual well-being has grown
exceptionally through the years due to material taught inside the classroom and life
lessons taught outside of the classroom. In high school I really did not work as hard
as I could have. I was accepted to Christopher Newport University and had a vision
of playing baseball. My roommate at CNU was my best friend from high school, Ben,
who also had the desire to play baseball. I met with the coach the summer before I
enrolled in school and everything went very well. When I arrived, my drive for
playing baseball faded almost instantly. I made a lot of new friends, met a nice girl
and decided I would rather just be a regular college student. This decision
contributed to my intellectual growth in that I was more focused on my schoolwork
and learned how to become a better student. Before I enrolled at CNU I did not
consider myself a talented writer. The only class that really had an impact on me
from CNU was my freshman English class. My professor was brilliant. He taught me
how to from sentences, organize thoughts and illustrate them in my writing.
However, my life at CNU was short-lived. I left after my fist semester because my
expectations were not met and I did not favor the mood of the school. CNU is a great
school, but it was not the right place for me.
I made the decision to leave CNU and return home to attend Blue Ridge. My
new goal was to become a Virginia Tech Hokie. Coming back home to Harrisonburg
was a difficult transition for me. I started the school year in a dorm surrounded by
my friends every minute and finished the year living at home surrounded only by
family. I experienced a significant amount of intellectual growth and ethical
development this semester because I felt alone, sometimes. I was suddenly distant
from all my friends. There was no one around me to judge the decisions I was
making, which meant the real person inside of me would be revealed. I did a lot of
soul searching that spring and decided to make my goal of enrolling in Virginia Tech
a reality. My cousin’s boyfriend who lived in Blacksburg was in need of a roommate
and she thought I would be a great fit.
The fall of 2012 I moved to Blacksburg with dreams and aspirations of
becoming a Hokie. With only one year of college under my belt I did not have
enough credits to transfer into Tech, so I decided to enroll in the local community
college, New River. I was not really sure what to expect. I thought it would similar to
Blue Ridge or any other community college, but it was quite different. I had some of
the finest teachers possible during my time at New River and made many new
friends. Aside from Bridgewater, I grew the most on an intellectual level at New
River. I spent two years learning many new subjects, making new friends and
creating everlasting memories. I lived in the town of Blacksburg surrounded by
Virginia Tech students, which made me feel almost as if I were an actual member of
the Hokie community. Having already been enrolled in three different schools in the
span of one year, I contained more perspective on academic citizenship that most. I
think by bouncing around different schools my first year made me more susceptible
to the big picture of college and life in general. I had memories and experiences at
three different schools and had the luxury of comparing the pros and cons. What I
found was every school is different; even community colleges. Every school has its
own unique feel and mood that propel students to want to join. My academic
citizenship has been tested and illustrated many times, and I think by trying
different things and having different experiences that it is stronger than the
ordinary college students’.
My first year at New River was nothing short of life changing. The fall
semester went well and I managed to adjust to my new life accordingly. The next
semester was when my life changed forever. I was sitting in my math class at 1:55
P.M. when I heard a very loud noise; it sounded like a large book dropping on
hardwood floor. I did not think anything of it and neither did the rest of the class.
Shortly after the loud noise, two more identical sounds followed. This is when I
asked myself the terrifying question a person never wants to determine: “is there
somebody in the school with a gun?” Unfortunately, yes, there was. Thankfully,
everyone was okay. Two women in charge of the front desk were wounded but
managed to pull through. I still remember that day like it was yesterday and
probably will not ever forget that loud bang coming from just outside my class. This
event contributed a substantial amount to my ethical development and wellness.
From this eye-opening event, my ethical development experienced a huge increase
in the new way I viewed how valuable life is and how fast it can be taken away.
Shortly after, my wellness decreased. I was paranoid every time I went to school
after the incident and found myself nervous about loud sudden sounds. Although, in
the long run I think this event actually helped my wellness tremendously. I am no
longer paranoid; I am more relaxed than I have ever been inside a classroom. I’m
not exactly sure how to put it into words but I think this event made me stronger
and more aware as to what can happen at any given moment.
The next fall I began working while attending school for the first time in my
life. I worked at Dunkin Donuts at Hokie Grill, a Virginia Tech dining hall. This was
the first job I had in which I had to work with other people and operate as a team.
Working at Hokie Grill triggered all four of the dimensions. My intellectual growth
increased by acquiring basic knowledge of how the real world works and how tasks
are to be performed properly. I worked with Virginia Tech students, which gave me
an inside-look at how they conduct themselves and the problems and triumphs they
experienced as a student-employee. My ethical development increased by working
as a cashier because I had to keep track of the amount of money in the register from
start to finish. I had to be honest when I was short a couple cents or else I would
have to face the consequences. Working at Hokie Grill increased my wellness by
simply having money. It was the first time I had a job in a while and it felt great to be
financially secure. This made me feel more comfortable which resulted in me feeling
happier overall.
During the following winter break I received some of the worst news in my
life. Ben, my best friend from high school and roommate at CNU was killed. I could
not believe the words that came out of my friend’s mouth when he told me. When I
left CNU, things between Ben and I were not ideal. Before Ben was killed, I had not
spoken to him in about a year. I moved to Harrisonburg the summer before my
freshman year of high school and it very was hard on me. Ben was my first real
friend and became my best. He showed me everything and introduced me to
everyone in school. I have him to thank for everyone I know here. This tragic event
touched on my intellectual growth, ethical development, and wellness. This event
touched on my intellectual growth by helping me realize how lucky I am to be who I
am, and to be where I am. This assisted in how I went about making tough but the
right decisions, even if the decision upset others. Ben was mixed up with the wrong
crowd shortly before he died which ultimately was the cause of his death. This
reminded how important the people who you associate with are. Outside of our
parents they have the greatest effect and influence on us and could potentially be
the difference between life and death.
Long story short, I did not make it into Virginia Tech. There were a couple
complications along the way and the process of transferring would have taken too
long if I stuck with it. Honestly, I have been a Hokie fan more whole life. I have a lot
of family that have gone there and I wanted to since I was a kid, but sometimes in
life the right decision is not always the one you want. I then made the decision to
come back to live at home and attend Bridgewater, and I believe it ended up being
the right decision in the long run. At Bridgewater, I have access to things that I
would not have been possible at Tech. Bridgewater is a very tight-knit community
and I can feel it in the air every time I stroll campus. At Bridgewater, the average
class size is roughly 20 students, which makes it a lot easier to ask questions and be
more engaged in the lecture. At a small school like Bridgewater, it is drastically
easier to communicate with professors and other students, ask questions and
double check that I am understanding the material. Making the decision to go to
Bridgewater over Virginia Tech involved almost all of the four dimensions. I grew
intellectually by being able to enroll in small classes where I have a better
opportunity to learn new information. This decision affected my academic
citizenship by obtaining a high quality education while living at home. Thus far, my
PDP 350 class has had the greatest impact on me. Professor Josefson’s lectures made
me think very deeply and view life in a different and more profound way. We talked
a great deal about ethics and how we would respond in certain situations, which
enhanced my decision-making ability. I apply many of the topics that were covered
in PDP 350 to most of the tough decisions I have to make today. My wellness has
increased by making new friends and trying to new things, such as flag football, FCA
and CEO.
One thing that has surprised me during my time in college is how much I learned
from people who were not the “teachers.” This past summer, my best friend and I
coached a Junior Varsity level summer league baseball team. My friend and I played
baseball together in high school and have always clicked on the baseball field
together. When he asked me if I would help him out I really was not that excited. I
thought it just be another positive activity to add to my resume, but I was wrong.
After our first practice, I was hooked. I had never coached before but my friend has
been doing it for a couple of years and he demonstrated great leadership and
responsibility, which actually surprised me. I tried my best to model my coaching
technique after him and it worked out great for the kids. Traveling with these young
kids to and from games and watching them perform was an eye-opening experience
for me. I thought I would be doing most of the teaching because I have a lot more
experience but I think the kids actually taught me more. I was amazed by how much
I learned from these kids. They asked questions and made me think about baseball
things I had never thought about before. What I learned most from coaching was
how to believe in myself. I acted very confident and tried to set an example for the
young kids and they eventually followed. Young kids look up to older kids. After all,
who is going to believe in you if you don’t believe in yourself? I can connect my
coaching experience to my experiences I have had as a student. I’ve learned a great
amount from professors over the years, but I have also learned so much from fellow
students. I’ve learned a lot from group meetings and working with other students.
This has allowed me the chance to see how other students think and how the
conduct themselves as a student. Teachers can do the best possible, but in the end
students will only truly learn if they teach the material to themselves.
Most of my life goals are the same as everyone else’s: get a job, be successful,
have a loving family, etc. Although, I have a couple specific goals that I want to
achieve as well: stay true to who I am and be real. What I have found in my college
career is that people change, including myself, and that is not necessarily a bad
thing. People are always changing. I am noticeably different today as to when I
started college. I understand that change is inevitable, but I want to remain loyal to
my roots and what I stand for. I want to have a successful job and love what I do for
a living. I do not want to ever get lost in my work, though. I think one of the most
important things in life is to have fun. In order to have fun, a person has to be
financially stable and in order to do that one must have a job. I want to make sure I
always have time for those that are important to me and to always be there for
them. I want to have a family that I am very close with and can share everything
with each other. My most important life goal is to continue to be selfless. The most
important thing I have learned while in college is that the world does not revolve
around me. It still amazes me to this day how much I changed just within my first
semester of college. In high school, I was selfish, immature and incompetent. After
my first semester, my attitude completely changed. I started thinking about other
people instead of me and I still practice it daily. I want to continue to help others
and always put their needs before mine.
The process of selecting which documents to choose as my five artifacts was
strenuous, but I chose the five I thought demonstrated my growth the very best: the
first college essay I wrote, a stress management paper, a religion paper, an outline of
a commemorative speech, and an international law paper. I chose the first essay I
wrote at CNU because it was my very first piece of writing I completed in college.
Re-reading my first essay and comparing it to a piece I wrote recently is somewhat
amusing. My first essay highlights the path my writing has taken and how I have
improved as a writer. The second artifact I chose was a stress management paper I
wrote at New River. This paper was assigned shortly after the shooting, so it was
very important to me that I research stress management techniques and how to
overcome stress. I remember my classmates taking turns sharing what we did to
treat stress, which was very comforting considering the circumstances. The third
artifact I chose was a religion paper I wrote during my time at New River. Although I
do not necessarily make it known, religion is important to me and I thought this
essay did a great job of illustrating my beliefs and my opinions on certain subjects.
The fourth artifact, and probably the most important, was a commemorative speech
outline. This is significant because I am terrified to speak in front of a large crowd.
The assignment of the speech was to commemorate something special from our
lives and I decided to talk about how Ben was killed. This was hard at the time, but
after saying the words out loud to my class I finally felt some closure about the
tragic event. The final artifact I chose was an international law paper I wrote while
attending Bridgewater. This is significant because before writing this paper I had
never written a paper containing more than eight pages. This project required 13
pages. Before I started, it felt as if the task was next to impossible but I managed to
eventually succeed. I broke the assignment up into smaller portions, focusing on
paragraphs instead of pages. This strategy made the process of writing the paper
more enjoyable. After I was finished, I felt as if I could do anything, and now, writing
papers is no big deal.
In conclusion, college has been a long journey. I’m sad to see the light at the
end of the tunnel but at the same time I am excited. It feels as if it is the right time
for the next chapter of my life to begin. I’m ready for new opportunities and people,
and to put my capabilities to use. I’ve learned many important things along the way,
but the most important thing I’ve learned during the last five years is that life is
more than just about me. I need to continue to be as selfless as I can be and put
others before of me. My college career did not go exactly as I planned but in the end
I would not have it any other way. I’ve met many interesting people and had many
amazing experiences during my journey. If everything worked out like I had
planned, I would not have these precious memories. Here’s to the next step!