Finding Strengths in the Second Week

In class, we had to talk about three strengths that we have that will be useful when we are peer mentors next fall and one or two weaknesses that we will need to work on for next fall. We were given a fair amount of time to think about and come up with answers for ourselves. The weaknesses were easy to come up with because I know what skills I need to work on, and I am constantly improving up them. One of these skills was patience. I can be a bit impatient at times when working with others. In order for me to be a great peer mentor, I need to realize that not everyone is as fast as I am. Another skill I need to work on is working on taking advantage of situations. I need to work on this because sometimes I miss important opportunities because I do not act when I have a chance to do so. Working on this skill will help me become a better role model for others and thus a better peer mentor.  The three strengths I came up with were my ability to understand where many of the incoming freshmen are at, my knowledge of the college, and my determination. I believe determination is my greatest strength because whenever I start a task or whenever I want something badly enough, I do not stop until I have obtained or completed it. In addition, I believe this strength makes me a great role model for the incoming freshmen.

In addition to this, we discussed several issues incoming freshmen face when coming to college. One of the problems freshmen face is financial aid. I am very familiar with this issue as I had trouble with financial aid in the months leading into my freshmen year. Another issue is the issue of homesickness and feeling lonely at college. During my freshmen year, I experienced a bit of homesickness before classes started, but I soon got over it. However, many freshmen do not get over it quickly and want to go home. One other issue freshmen face is adjusting to hard classes. This issue is familiar to me because I was not use to studying every single night in high school, and when I started classes, I found that this had to happen or I was going to fail. I adjusted however not every freshmen does. It is because I have had experience with these issues that I will be able to help and offer suggestions next semester if anyone comes asking for help.

In addition to all of this, we started talking about the digital storytelling project. While we didn’t make any important decisions, we still came up with some possible themes for the project. I offered to be a script writer for the project, and I hope I get it as I love to write stories. I look forward to completing this project, so the freshmen next fall can have a great example for their projects.