Blog #6: Discourse Communities and the Cost of Affiliation

Immersing in college life, something that most college students love and hate at the same time for simple reasons. We get to meet a lot of people, to make new friends, socialize and to build a network, but on the other hand, we lack time, most of us are always tired, stressed and overworked. College life, fun yet painful.

Personally, I miss my parents a lot since I had to leave home to come to SDSU, time management is key to be able to sustain oneself. I had to learn how to cook, what groceries to get, how to set up my work and school schedule and how to make enough time to get to see my parents every now and then. English being my second language presents another challenge, yet I like activities that require a lot of effort because that means I am learning and I am being productive. Nonetheless, sometimes I wake up and forget why I'm doing all this, but then I remember that school gives me some sense of direction, which I think is great because after graduation there is nothing that will guide me, so being in school in a way means that I don't have to worry too much about the following months because my main responsibility is just going to classes. What I mean by this idea is that after graduation I really have high expectations as to my future occupation, if there is something that I have been hoping for ever since I started my college career is to have a job that really makes me happy, and so these two following years give me some time to prepare for this.

After reading Madden's article, I can see why many students who do not have many funds have dropped out, I have been close to being one of them. I remember that during my first semester at SDSU, I had purchased my first car, and I was only left with $630 or so in my bank account, and rent was due a week after that, instances like this can really stress me out, but throughout the past two years I have learned how to sustain myself and in a way I am thankful for having such a busy schedule because it makes me believe that after I graduate things will get much easier. I also remember that the first two weeks of moving out, all I ate was tuna and lettuce, but I realized I could not go on for four years eating like that. I also remember that after last semester ended, my roommates' and my lease agreement had ended a month before we expected to end, this happened in May right after the Spring semester was over, they went back to their parents, I was left homeless but conveniently enough I had a couple of friends that took me in, yet, such circumstances can be very challenging as I do not like to ask for big favors like that, but again, one has to find the means to reach its own goals.

Academically speaking, that is probably the biggest challenge I have faced, as I mentioned earlier I am not the brightest student at least not when it comes to English, since it is my second language sometimes having to pretend what a professor means by certain words is very intimidating, especially when they ask you to answer in front of the class, but then again, I like challenges. I also have to mention that there have been a lot of students that have really impressed me on how academic they can be, not only in English but in other classes, I have made a few friends that are graduating like two years earlier than me, or some of them have great jobs, which makes me want to reach my full potential in all aspects.

In conclusion, immersing in college is a challenge, it can be physically and mentally tiring, but it helps us become a better version of ourselves. There are always options on how to budget everything, this should not stop anyone from graduating.