Despite popular (well, at least my own) belief, I have survived the longest-shortest year of my life, also known as my first year of college (please, hold your applause). Through blood, sweat, tears, and the difficult decision to change majors, I somehow made it through. As the spring 2026 semester begins to close and finals swiftly approach, I need to reflect on my time so far. The best way to reflect on such a tempestuous time of my life is by writing it on my TerpConnect website for all to see, of course.
It turns out that the classes in college are NOT the same as those in high school. Who’d’ve thunk, I know. But in all seriousness, I did take some courses that I didn’t expect to be offered as a first-year student. In my fall semester, I took two amazing courses: Introduction to Engineering Design (a.k.a ENES100) and The Aerospace Engineering Profession (ENAE100). These classes showed me why the University of Maryland is one of the top schools in research, and why I love it so much. I was warned by many that most schools for engineering don’t have you taking any “actual engineering classes” during your first few years, but these classes are required for aerospace engineering. In ENES100, I learned about using CAD and C++ to build an ACTUAL REAL LIFE ROBOT!!. And in ENAE100, I learned how to use Python for a machine learning algorithm to classify stellar objects as a RESEARCH PROJECT!! I mean, how cool is that?! In these group projects, I made some amazing friends, and it also gave me new college experiences to add to my resumé with an award and top place finish (not to brag, but I am proud). To any students who are/will be taking these classes, I have two pieces of advice for you. 1) Make out-of-class group meetings fun; you’ll meet some amazing people, and it’ll be easier to work together. 2) In ENAE100, project signups are at 4:30AM. Wake up earlier than that. I signed up for my project at exactly 4:30, and 3/4 of the slots were already filled. 3) Don’t be led astray like I was. Most semesters won’t be as project-based as this one, so keep in mind that engineering has a lot more exams than projects.
Another bonus that came from these classes (ENAE100 in particular) is the opportunity to work with faculty. My research project’s mentor was an aerospace professor at UMD. Getting to work so closely with a professor was an amazing experience. I was able to easily ask him questions, and I got to know him before even taking a class that he teaches. I also had classes where I found working with the TA a very valuable experience. I used to be (and I’m still a little) scared to reach out to faculty for questions and support, but breaking that initial barrier is crucial. Reach out to your professors, your TAs, or whoever you have. It is literally their job to be there to help you. I promise they won’t bite (at least not in my experience, but I’d say it’s safe to assume).
If I’m being honest, this year isn’t like what I had hoped it would be for me. I had a really rough start with a very unpleasant roommate, I isolated myself a lot, I wasn’t very active on campus, and I didn’t make many friends. I am a VERY socially anxious person, but I still made one close, ride-or-die friend through ENES100, and I am forever grateful for her. To any freshman scared about making friends, all I can say is PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE!!! It can be scary and terrifying, but my biggest regret is not putting enough effort into joining clubs and talking to people. The friend I made helped me through some of the hardest times in my life, and everyone needs at least one person who can do that.
I won’t sugarcoat it; I was completely unprepared coming into this year. The adjustment to being in college hit me like a freight train. The classes aren’t meant to be easy, and exams are meant to be hard. Midterm season isn’t in the middle of the term; it’s all but the first few weeks of classes (I had my last exam 2 days before the last day of classes). I took a few AP classes in high school, but it’s not only the pace of classes that’s different. College drops you straight into the world of independence and free will. You need to remember to make/eat food, get some amount of sleep, and have some amount of structure in your day. No one forces you to do pretty much anything. You can skip classes if you want to or if you oversleep, but that is a slippery slope. It’s a lot, and most people (I’m VERY MUCH included) aren’t properly prepared for a lot of these things. If there are any incoming students reading this, please don’t let this scare you. The best advice I can give you is to just not be like me. Do your homework as soon as you can, start at least thinking about how you’re going to study for an exam well before it comes up, force yourself to go to sleep (ESPECIALLY before exams), and most of all: GO TO EVERY LECTURE/DISCUSSION/OFFICE HOURS/STUDY GROUPS/ANYTHING TO HELP YOU!!!! It’s a lot and it’s hard, but you got into UMD because someone saw your application and saw your potential to thrive here.
This year has been hard, but I did it. To end this very long essay, I’ll leave a lyric from "Silence" by The Plot in You:
"I've been through the void, and I'll celebrate the fact that I have proof."