A Mixture of Intimidation and Excitement

I woke up early this morning to the bright East Coast sunrise to finish up some reading for my Con Law class today. The reading was pretty dense, but I finished it in time to go to breakfast with my roomie, Keira. After that, it was time to go to class. I headed over feeling a little upset because I was remembering how smart everyone in my class is. A majority of them have taken Advanced Placement U.S. History which gives them an advantage in class and have a better understanding of the United States government than I do. As I think about it now, I wish I was not intimidated because it deterred me from speaking up in class. There are a lot of things I wanted to say whenever my professor asked an open-ended question, but I would think to myself, "So, there are nineteen people in this room and my answer would probably be the least interesting so I'll just stay quiet and let someone else take it from here." Looking back, I feel very dumb. I made it all the way to Columbia, so I might as well speak up and have my voice heard. I tend to over-think and by tomorrow I hope more people in class will know my name after I speak up.

My class materials.

Aside from worrying about my class participation, I really like the people here and the overall environment. I thought the friendliness from everyone would only last the first day, but it turns out that people are that awesome all the time! There are so many extracurricular opportunities being offered to me. Some examples are  RA trips to the Strand Bookstore, the New York Phillharmonic, seeing a Broadway show, visit museums, and visit an ice cream parlor made fresh daily in the city. There are so many options and looking at the events page is so exciting because there are plenty of activities daily. The only problem may be keeping up with my reading but I feel prepared (thankfully I've read the textbook reading already) and I can already tell that I am going to learn a lot in my class. I will not allow myself to fall behind just because I am in the heart of New York.

After class, I explored the campus and read under one of the trees in front of Low Library. I was reminded how beautiful Columbia is and how peaceful the area is. I also explored the gym which is really well equipped with three whole levels including multiple exercise rooms, cardio machines, and sports courts. To wrap up the night, I am finishing up my reading and signing up for RA trips. The RAs here are very encouraging which makes me even more excited to explore the city. So far, so good.