Shay Goodreau-Kangas (Photo courtesy 8-18 Media director Marnie Foucault)

Second semester, here we go.

Even now, I’m still in shock about how I’m in college. Will I ever get over this surreal adventure? Maybe when I’m a junior. Not anytime soon, though.

In my first semester, I was more shy and kept my head down. I would think to myself how I wasn’t sure if this was where I should be or if I deserved the privilege to study here.

Transition to this next semester, that feeling has lessened, and I feel more capable about what I’m doing. There is, of course, the occasional mental breakdown. I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t have those.

But college teaches you responsibility and time management, two things that are necessary as we grow into adulthood. Even so, it is safe to say the transition is bumpy. A big part of that is the friends you had in high school and the new ones you make in college. I don’t mean to be a product of my generation, but it’s trippy.

Every time I go to my friend’s house, I think about what they have been up to and what their lives are built around.

Is it school? Is it reading books for fun? Is it watching a new show that you become addicted to and finish a nine-season show in five days? It can be done. I’m not saying that’s a good thing, but it’s possible.

Anyway, I compare what they do in their time to what I do in mine. If I’m not in a lecture, I do homework. If I’m not doing homework, I’m working. If I’m not working, I’m either sleeping or watching “One Tree Hill” because I am too roped into the show to give it up.

The differences with my friends from high school are that their lives are so different from mine that it can be difficult to find time to be with them or have the mental capacity to be around anyone at all.

Now that the semester has ended, I can be reflective and at peace with the work I’ve done. It might be what I accomplished by studying, or surprising myself by being able to recall random bits of information our class talked about one time.

Even though it wasn’t easy, I can think of worse things. Like physics. I hope to never take a physics class. I will take the challenges biology presented to me any day of the week over physics. I like a challenge, but math is off the table.

Furthermore, one more thing I can be reflective of would be how many of my classes had similar elements in their lectures. For example, in my mythology class, we talked about the tale of Pygmalion and how he grew obsessed with a statue. Meanwhile, a few weeks later, in my sociology class, we were shown a picture of Pygmalion with his beloved statue and was asked to analyze it.

There were multiple times where crossovers of this sort occurred, and every time it did, it acted like a refresher. This helps, especially when midterms are around the corner and you need refreshers left and right.

In summary, this semester has been enlightening in more ways than one. It’s helped me become more capable in my studies and in managing my time. It’s forced me to ask myself if what I’m doing in this moment is really necessary or if I should be doing something else. Like studying.

It’s also put relationships with friends to the test. Only the strong prevailed. While this semester has been challenging in more ways than one, I can’t help but be sad it has ended. Overall its been a wonderful semester, and I’m sorry to see it fly away.

But then I remember it’s summertime, and I need rest and relaxation if I’m going to succeed next year in being a sophomore.

Shay Goodreau-Kangas, 19, is a Northern Michigan University student majoring in social work.