Aaron Doman
1. Things I have learned:
 I work better alone (especially in a quiet place)
 How to think critically
 APA style when writing a paper
 How much my family really means to me
 Time management
 Procrastination kills
 I miss my mom’s cooking
 I hate doing laundry
 Making new friends can be difficult
 You can’t always trust who you think you can
 Professors are here to help, they want you to succeed
 People change, and not always for the better
 I assumed living with strangers would be hard, actually wasn’t for me
 How important music is to me
 How much we rely on technology
 Surround yourself with people that will support you, not tear you down
Areas for improvement: Working in groups, communication skills, time management (especially with no
sports to keep me on track), I need to get more sleep
Reflection: Surround yourself with people that will support you, not tear you down. People change, and
not always for the better. You can’t always trust who you think you can.
Back in high school, I considered myself to be a pretty successful person. I was a good athlete
that managed to make good grades and still have time to spend with my friends and family. I knew that
once I came to college I was going to miss my friends and family a lot and probably lose some
friendships or drift away as a result. But after these three months at college, I have come to realize
something. Throughout this entire first semester, I have made a lot of friends and have grown a lot as a
person because of them. The two roommates that I have been living with are great supporters and are
always willing to help whenever one of us three needs it. My professors are an amazing help as they are
always willing to answer questions and make time to meet with you if you need it. All of this sort of
amazed me. Back in high school, whenever I were to have a good game or make a good grade on a
paper, my friends would always point out the bad. They would say things such as, “Well you played
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okay, but you could’ve played better defense.” At the time when these sorts of thing occurred, I just
saw them as constructive criticism and that they were just trying to help me improve. But after this first
semester I realize that maybe that isn’t the case. Growing up, I have had five best friends that have
always been close to me. We would spend countless hours together playing basketball or video games.
But once high school hit, they seemed to change. A few of them became more focused on their own life
and less in everyone else that was close to them. They began hanging out with the wrong crowd and
doing things that I didn’t find right. One day when I went over to a friend’s house after school, he pulled
out a bag of weed and asked me to try it. I knew it was wrong and I said no immediately, and then
proceeded to try and make him throw it away. He refused and started cussing at me, telling me to get
out. To this day, he hasn’t talked to me since. He was once someone that I could turn to for anything
and he would be there, but he had changed completely. I just recently realized that another one of my
closest friends, who I still talk to today, has been saying stuff about me behind my back. As best friends,
we pretty much told each other everything and had no secrets amongst the group. During my senior
year, some things that I had shared with them had gotten out and people were spreading rumors. They
involved problems that my girlfriend at the time was having with her home life, and I thought I could
trust them and get their advice on the matter. I thought maybe someone found out from her, but I was
just recently told that wasn’t the case. College has really shown me how difficult it can be to trust
people. On morning while me and my one roommate were in class, my other roommate happened to
still be asleep. He heard something and looked up just in time to see someone running out of his room.
His wallet was opened and emptied on my desk by the door. Thank God he had no money in it at the
time, but still the fact that someone tried that astounds me. That situation reminds me of how we
discussed ethics in our class. Maybe he needed the money and thought it was something he had to do,
but that still wouldn’t make it morally right. College has taught me how important it is to surround
yourself with people that are going to be there for you, even when things get tough. I still have three
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extremely close friends that visit me some weekends and always have my back. I know that whenever I
need someone to talk to, they are going to be there for me. My roommates have been a big help to me,
and I think I have definitely returned the paper. Josh isn’t the best at math, so I help him out there.
He’s a biology major and that just happens to be my weak spot. Hayden always helps us study and we
get along really well. But the reason I like having them around isn’t that we get along and have things in
common. It’s that they are up lifters, while some of my friends in the past were not. My family also
plays an important role in supporting me since I’ve been at college, especially my sister. Being that she
has been through this whole process of college, she knows how it works. She understands what you
have to do in order to succeed and has helped me out a great deal since arriving. She not only helps me
out with academics, but other situations as well. I know that she is always there for me and is my
biggest fan, alongside my parents. I really take this whole concept to heart. I know that if I want to
succeed, I have to be around those who want that same thing. I realize that I have to avoid the people
that are distracting and trying to bring others down, and also to not become one of those people.
College has made me want to help others and reach out more, from working at our church’s Love Center
to mowing a neighbor’s lawn in the summer. By supporting people and lifting them up, it ultimately
helps you realize where you need to go and how to get there.
2. Most important things I’ve learned in classes (PDP)

How to think critically

Analyze text, dig deeper

How to handle overwhelming assignments

How one’s concept of what is morally right can change in an instant

About what influences me

Finding what works for me
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Reflection: Finding what works for me
The first time this class met, Joel told us to make college work for us. I understood what
he was trying to say, but I was unsure of how to do it. As the semester went on, I slowly began
to understand this concept more and more. That phrase has been said many of times in this
classroom by both the students and you. It was best explained when you told us how we
needed to teach ourselves. That really got me thinking. If I am going to teach myself, then I
ultimately set the curriculum. I choose how the material is taught to myself, how to analyze,
study it, and retain it. I started by testing out different methods and found one’s that worked
for me. I realized that I am a much better studier when I am alone and it is completely silent.
Although that is difficult to make happen in these circumstances at college, I have managed to
make it work. This idea of making college work for me was even reinforced again when we read
the article by Bain about what the best college student s do in order to succeed. In the text, he
says that the best students find out what works for them, and I have done just that. By using
notecards to study my notes, I have found that it isn’t as overwhelming as staring at a full page
of writing. This method has really helped me in history and biology, which are classes that I
have a lot of notes from. I have also learned how to manage large assignments. Over break, I
had three essays to write, all due a day or two after we were scheduled to come back. I worked
a little bit of each one every day to keep my mind from exhaustion. By leaving it for a while and
coming back to it, I not only wrote more fluently, but also was more inclined to see mistakes
that I had made.
3. I almost see myself as a completely different person than when I showed up three
months earlier. First off, I actually enjoy learning now. Back in high school, I was always
ready for the bell to ring and I rarely paid attention in most classes. But in college, I
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know that if I don’t take good notes in class that I will do poorly. But surprisingly, that
isn’t an issue. I have even enjoyed biology class, which I hated and struggled with a lot
back in high school. I find myself to be less lazy than I was in high school when it comes
to my schoolwork, and it has paid off. My parents are proud of me for making it
through my first semester, and more importantly, I am proud of myself. I have also
changed in the way that I treat my family. Back before I arrived here, I definitely took
them for granted. Since being on campus, I now understand how much they do for me
on a daily basis. I am so grateful to have such a loving family that encourages me in all
that I do. I give them all the credit for mu succession in not only college but life, as they
have raised me to be the man that I am today.