Waroquet 1

Etienne Waroquet

Amy Flick

ENGCOMP 0200 – 1425

24 November 2019

New Territory

Upon reading this narrative, I will be finishing my first semester of university education.

It has been a continuous learning process of social and educational experiences. After graduating

high school, I initially considered myself prepared for the school year ahead with confidence in

my comprehension and writing skills. My year spent at Biomed Science Academy had me take

the time to read a new book almost every week, and then analyze and reflect on what was

assigned. Of course, we also had copious notetaking. Somewhere along the trail of school

assignments, I lost my appreciation for reading and reading for pleasure. Then, commencing with

university-level classes, I realized that maybe my originally thought talent for understanding text

was not up to par with my peers. I’m hoping that my time spent at the University of Pittsburgh

and future assignments and exposure to a variety of literary texts will enhance my literacy skills

and re-install my appreciation for writings that are humanity driven and those that are technical

in nature. Luckily this class has reminded me of the importance to be well-spoken and well

written in current society.

In our first week of classes at Pitt, I decided to sign up for a drugs and behavior course. It

had considerably good reviews and it continues to be a common interest amongst students at Pitt.

The class was noted for being quite a challenging general education neural science course. With

that, I was still excited and still confident in my ability to learn and understand new material.

Unfortunately, nothing prepares you for walking into your first auditorium class. I soon realized
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that I had become just a number with about 300 other students. I promptly found my seat in the

back of the class while the professor explained what the course would entail and what to expect

on our end as far as assignments. It all seemed simple enough until our fourth-class meeting.

These first few lectures were interesting, and the professor touched on a basic history of drug

evolution over time. This subject matter continued to be interesting to me. However, we then

dove deeper into explaining exactly what a neuron is, in the human body. So, we moved on to

much more technical reading and technical writing. I vividly remember jotting down as many

notes as I could while still trying to comprehend the very heavy information. I felt like I was the

only one who left the class that day feeling hopeless and lost. I proceeded to spend hours upon

hours over the course of several days trying to understand the information that was being

presented, but nothing was clicking. I knew no one else in the class and felt like I had zero

support. The professor continued at a fast pace and I just couldn’t keep up. I’m sure every

college freshman experience is the amount of anxiety that I was feeling at that moment. Of

course, I began to question my ability to stay at Pitt as well as contemplate dropping the class.

Maybe I did not have the literacy skills to successfully get through university-level classes?

Maybe my high school did not prepare me adequately either?

Neuroscience is a completely different communication context, delving into deep

scientific study, and a brand-new field of study than anything I have done in my past. It started

off intriguing and quickly became overwhelming. As an incoming freshman, I felt a part of the

minority surrounded by third and fourth-year students. Maybe this was a factor in my struggle? I

continue to be quite intimidated as it seems to me that other students in the class were grasping

the information quicker than I could comprehend. Well, I have decided to not drop the class, I

carried on trying to keep the faith in my right to be part of this class. Very interesting parts of
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neuroscience information would be buried among extremely difficult scientific terminology. I

felt like every other word I read needed me to read its dictionary definition. Just as an example,

we learned about retrograde neurotransmitters, receptor antagonists, and the term

extrapyramidal. It was beginning to seem like a different language. I now realize that when it

comes to reflecting on my literary history, it was all very specific. I was used to very basic forms

of written and oral communication. Scientists communicate in different ways as well as

mathematicians. Artists have their own jargon as well as businessmen. Essentially, these are

different languages, and I realize that my time spent at Pitt will challenge my understanding of

this.

While it has been a struggle, it has been a notable first-year university experience, and I

did receive some positive reinforcement. When we received our first graded exam, I realized that

my grade was 10% higher than that of the class average. Of course, this gave me a boost to my

confidence. This led to me applying myself even more and overcoming some educational

hurdles. I’m not going to lie, I look forward to spending my winter break reading material that I

find a bit more interesting at more of a leisurely pace. However, each and every one of my first

semester classes has expanded my understanding of what it takes to continue in a university

setting. I know now that reaching out for help is never a bad idea and attending labs and group

study units are always helpful. I believe this this year has given me some extra skills to continue

to gather knowledge and wisdom.

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Works Cited

Brague, Joe. “Lecture.” Drugs & Behavior, Intro to Neuroscience 0081. The University of

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 2 Sep. 2019