Over the course of the first few months of my transition from high school to Old Dominion, there are some significant changes that are going to be a challenge getting used to. In the 1^st chapter of “The Transition to College Writing”, they enlighten on the subject about the new techniques college students must adapt to too “succeed”. I am personally already adjusting to this new lifestyle, for example, my high school was a breeze, I could show up to a test, not study, read, be as unprepared as possible, and still get a B on the test. Now I am going to have to use actual study techniques to pass, which was a very beneficial attribute in high school, however, this will not help me at Old Dominion.

Another major obstacle I am going to encounter in my transition to college life is Procrastination. Unfortunately, I can say that I was a professional procrastinator, I could be assigned a project a month ahead of the due date; next thing you know, the weekend before the project is due arrives and I would finish the entire project in one weekend. It was also a beneficial trait at the time, but a bad habit that I have to break. I have already began to change my ways, starting with this essay, it is not due until Monday of next week and I am typing it up four days ahead of schedule. Another thing that comes with breaking the procrastination habit is learning to enjoy the feeling of accomplishing all of my assignments ahead of time. It feels like a dead weight has been lifted off your shoulders when you know you have completed everything that needs to be finished, in a mannerly fashion of time. That is a greater benefit then just knowing that I achieved my goal in completing the work on time.

The last major hardship of transitioning to college is managing my time wisely, whether it is school work, working on campus, or leisure time. The first thing to always accomplish is the school work, it is just common sense. That is why we are all here, to further our education, and to gain more knowledge about what we want to do for the rest of our lives. Some people that go to college have to work on campus, working on campus combined with the school work, getting to work on time every day; it is a lot to put on an incoming freshman, who is still trying to get used to all the other transitions. Then combining a time of leisure in this unsolvable equation, knowing when to just hangout at the dorm with your friends, go out to dinner, spend some time with some women, and not to mention sleep. In my opinion, to “succeed” in college you must be able combine all three. There are a lot twists and turns to overcome my first semester is college, but all I can do is just keep my head on straight, and keep moving forward into the next semester.