[nabs-l] {Spam?} Re: Transition to college

Thu Jul 14 04:16:26 UTC 2016

Hi,
Great advice, Joe for number three. I would have written the same thing 
about time management.
I'll write my own answers sometime soon when I have time.

Ashley

-----Original Message----- 
From: Joe via NABS-L
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2016 9:01 PM
To: 'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'
Cc: Joe
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Transition to college

1. How smooth was your transition from high school to college? (Please
explain)

In some ways, it was too smooth. I came home at the end of that first
semester with every grade possible. My new found freedom was more than I
could handle, and the academic probation was a testament to my maturity, or
lack thereof. I realize this is not blindness-specific, but it's the kind of
thing that can compound a blind student's experience. I spent the rest of my
undergraduate years lifting myself out of the little pit I'd built for
myself. It's probably for this reason that I am an advocate of taking a gap
year. Go do a church mission. Attend an NFB center. Get involved in
AmeriCorps. Do something to adjust your view of life so that you can take
college more seriously. Or, maybe it's just me.

2. What did/do you struggle with in college? (This could be academic or
social or anything else college related)

I had a difficult time with algebra. In high school I had been shown various
ways to use alternative techniques to work with graphs, charts and complex
equations, but in college it's as if I consumed a big-o glass of stupid. LOL
I mean, it's only funny because at the end of it all I don't know who was
more excited to see me complete my math requirements, me or the professor I
habitually took the courses. Ironically, I never had trouble with my biology
courses. I'm going to chalk it up to an ineffective algebra professor, but
the truth is a lot of it rested on me.

With one exception, my social life was decent. The crazy thing is that the
one exception was a Hispanic fraternity. I mean, the nerve! Here I thought I
would find a home with my brown brothers, but nope. They actually did more
to make me feel like an outsider for being blind than anyone else in
college.

Wait, I'll own up to one other exception. There was this girl I really
liked. She liked me, or she did until the blindness thing got in the way.
She let me go on that account, and while I can now look back on it and count
it as one worth losing, as a college freshman that was a hard pill to
swallow. I'm glad the following February I attended my first Washington
Seminar. That sounds a little too much like drinking from the NFB Cool-Ade,
but it really did go a long way in fixing my little slump there.

3. What do you wish you had been told or taught before starting college?

First, learn to manage your time before you get to college. All too soon you
will be on your own determining what consumes your life, including when and
if you show up to class. My junior year I was temporarily possessed. That's
the only logical reason I can think of for taking a philosophy course at
8:00 AM. I must have missed a quarter of the classes in that course, and the
only reason I got an A is because I study well under pressure, or so I like
to tell myself.

Second, learn how to take notes. It's not necessary to jot down every word
spoken or even to record your class lecture. Nothing helped me learn how to
take notes more than the year my Braille Note was missing in action. I got
really good at the slate and stylus, but no matter how fast I became, I
quickly learned to only take down major highlights.

Third, learn how to read Braille! Again it may sound as though I'm guzzling
from that NFB happy juice. I promise though it will be a skill you will be
glad you acquired. Oral presentations, study habits, and proofreading will
all benefit from your having learned how to make use of Braille. That's not
something I had to be told or wish I'd been told, but it's something I often
tell the college kids I've mentored.

Next, don't be afraid to socialize. That would seem pretty self-explanatory,
but college is one of the few points in your life when you will be able to
move in and out of social circles with flexible ease. I mean, don't go to
the extreme I experienced my first semester in college. Yet do not pass up
opportunities to turn casual conversations in class to possible long-term
friendships. The people who were curious as to why in hell I was writing
backward with a slate and stylus were the ones I sometimes wound up throwing
back a few drinks at a bar off campus. And, no, I am in no way suggesting
you need a bar to be social, but follow your speed in whatever scenario
makes you comfortable. Too often I think we make sighted people more of a
barrier than they need to be. There have been many times when people later
admitted they had not approached me sooner because I looked ticked off or
rushed or generally unapproachable. People are curious about you and how you
do things. If you don't educate them, their misconceptions may persist.

Anyway, I hope that's helpful.

Best,

Joe

--
Musings of a Work in Progress:
www.JoeOrozco.com/

Twitter: @ScribblingJoe

-----Original Message-----
From: NABS-L [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Anna via NABS-L
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2016 3:21 PM
To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Cc: annajee82 at gmail.com
Subject: [nabs-l] Transition to college

Hey NABS!

I am trying to collect some information and hoping that this may be a useful
place to do so. I need to hear about people's experiences or thoughts on the
process of transition, so here are some questions to help direct this
discussion:

1.  How smooth was your transition from high school to college? (Please
explain)

2. What did/do you struggle with in college? (This could be academic or
social or anything else college related)

3. What do you wish you had been told or taught before starting college?

There are more questions but let's start with that.

I would love to hear about these topics from everyone.  And feel free to
email me off list if necessary.

Thanks much,

Anna E Givens
annajee82 at gmail.com
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