Monday

I used to hate Mondays (like most other people), but now it’s one of my favorite days of the week. I only have one class today, and it’s right here at Kennesaw Mountain. Although I’m a dual enrollment student, I chose to still have one high school class because I love being in KMTV, and I didn’t want my senior year to just pass me by. So every day, I go to KMTV during first block, which means I still have to wake up early and get to school at 8am, I still go to homeroom once a week, and I still get to spend time inside of school with my friends. Once first block ends at 10 o’clock, my mom picks me up and I go home, done with class for the day. Most people wouldn’t recommend becoming a dual enrollment student without a car or drivers license, but I think it’s manageable as long as you have a reliable way to get around, aka your parents and Uber. After getting home and taking a 2-3 hour nap, I study and do homework for a while and then get ready to work at my job from 3-10. My favorite thing about Mondays is that I have enough free time to catch up on sleep, homework, and senior year stuff while also fitting in enough time to work at my job.

Tuesday

Tuesdays are my first real days of the week. After first period ends, I order an Uber to KSU and go to English, my first college class of the day. I was placed into an upper level Gen Ed (General Education) college writing class, because last year I took AP English Language and scored high enough on the exam to waiver into the class. Since it’s a Gen Ed class, it’s guaranteed to transfer to any public school within the state of Georgia, saving me thousands of dollars. This class is also one of the most popular DE classes, with about half of it being made up of DE students. The other half of this class also varies in age, and is made up of college freshmen, sophomores, and even juniors. In this class we work on things like research papers, group projects, philosophic readings, and even discussions on today’s culture. Even though this is an English class, my professor has chosen technology as the theme. So all of our assignments deal with some aspect of technology, like social media, technology in the classroom, and material culture. Also, my professor is great! She’s very interested in the topics she’s teaching, and has also taught at other schools like Georgia Tech, Georgia State, and even Emory, so she really knows how to work with a wide range of students. Today we’re discussing and summarizing teachings of a Roman philosopher that practiced Stoicism. Class goes from 11 to 12:15, and once it’s over, I walk across campus to French, my last class of the day. It’s held in the Social Sciences college, a giant building that looks like it should be in the middle of Atlanta. Once I get to the Social Sciences Building, I go to the full size Starbucks and pick up a coffee I ordered through KSU’s online ordering app. Then, I take the elevator to the third floor, and walk to my favorite class. Although I’m in French 1, the pace of this class is extremely faster than what you would find in a French 1 high school class. Since we only meet two days per week for about an hour and fifteen minutes, every class day we are either learning new grammar concepts and vocabulary or taking a test/quiz. Personally, I love the pace because it allows me to learn a new language as fast as possible while also getting the best quality education in the subject. Today we’re learning how to tell time and starting cultural studies on Morocco, an African nation that has a large French speaking population due to past colonization. After class, I walk to the library to study for about 45 minutes and then get ready to head home.

Wednesday

I don’t have any KSU classes on Wednesdays, so after first block ends, I go home and sleep for a few hours and finish up any homework I have for the week. I also have weekly club meetings for the Mustang Messenger on Wednesdays, so around 3 o’clock I uber back to KMHS. Depending on traffic, I can get there before 3:30 hits and beat the rush of students leaving for the day. After the meeting, I go home for about 15 minutes and get ready to go to my job and work for the rest of the night. I know it seems like my schedule is hectic and all over the place, but it’s doable for me because I manage my time pretty well. For example, I have KSU classes three days a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays), so I only work at my job on non-KSU days and I do all my homework the day that it’s assigned. I’m also really interested in everything that I’m doing, so whenever I get busy with school, work, or clubs, I never feel like I’m spreading myself too thin.

Thursday

Today, I have English and French again at KSU. In English, we’re creating an annotated bibliography on a topic of our choice, and I chose social issues. One thing I love about college English is that I’m able to integrate my personal interests into my studies much more than I would be able to than if I were in an AP English class. I don’t have to read books about people that lived hundreds of years ago and wait until the teacher explains the entire “message” of the book for me to get it. My learning is now much more straightforward, while also still leaving room for research and the theoretical. After English, I meet some friends from French in the library, where we rented out an office room on the third floor. Class was cancelled for the day so that we could start our semester project on French culture in Morocco. Plus, the French club is hosting a “Taste of Morocco” food event on the campus quad that my professor said we could attend. Learning a language in college offers so many options for a deeper learning of the culture behind the language, making everything so much more interesting. But once again, since we only meet twice a week, we really have to take charge of our education and rely on studying to understand some of the more difficult concepts of speaking French. Because of this challenge, I’m not surprised that I’m the only DE student in my class.

Friday

While most people rejoice at the arrival of Friday, my feelings for this day are a little more complicated. Today at KSU I only have Micro-Economics at 11, but since we only meet once a week, this is a two hour and 45 minute long class. Yes, you read that right. This is also a large lecture class, and there are over 60 students in here ranging from 17 to 50 years old and having every type of major you could imagine. So in other words, this class makes me feel like a “real” college student. To make things even more like a stereotypical college experience, the only grades we have are three tests and one final, making every single time we meet for class all the more important. Although it’s personally hard for me to pay attention during the last 20 to 30 minutes of class, my professor’s lectures normally aren’t too hard to follow and he posts examples of everything on his blog. He also offers extra credit for attending guest lectures or film screenings sponsored by the college of business, the school that houses this class. Fun fact, the college of business is named after Michael Coles, the founder of Great American Cookies, and features a mini Starbucks cafe and sub shop. Normally, I buy a coffee and pastry to get through the class, but I’ll admit that even sometimes that isn’t enough. After class ends at 1:45, I go to the library to study and look over the Econ lesson for about 30 minutes. By the end of the day, I’m exhausted, but it’s worth it. Being able to gain college credits for free is a huge opportunity and I’m glad it’s available to every student that wants it.