It was early March of 2020 — coming off of a year that ended with riots, a rushed eighteenth birthday, and grieving over the heavy loss of a loved one — unsure of basically everything life had to offer, I started volunteering at my old school as a teaching assistant in the English department as nothing more than something to do. In my second week, the teacher I had been working with briefly pulled me aside to tell me the news; the first case of COVID in Viña was just found.
Four years (and one pandemic) later I walked inside UNAB’s Viña Del Mar campus for the first time as a university student studying English Pedagogy. I was taking the first step of a long journey that was set in front of me, and now I have reached the first milestone of that journey; finishing my first semester.
I didn’t have many expectations going into university.
Academically. It had been some time since I last studied, so I had some worries about that. However, I have always been a good student and had no doubt that if I was able to apply myself to my studies just as I did in high school, I could also find success at the university level.
Some may think that just because I’m a native English speaker English Language 1 must have been extremely easy for me but that’s not exactly the case. Yes, some classes like Listening & Speaking, and Reading came fairly naturally to me; however, the others came with their own sets of challenges. In some cases (Writing and Use of English) I was re-learning subjects and topics that I hadn’t paid close attention to since the 5th grade, and in others (Phonetics) I was viewing this language I’ve spoken my entire life for the first time backward and upside down.
My most challenging class this semester was by far Phonetics. As native speakers, we never pay attention to the sounds we’re making to pronounce words. From the time we are born, we learn how to speak by listening and repeating what is said by those around us. Phonetics class sometimes felt like I was learning a whole new language but it was fascinating how everything came together and began making sense over time.
As someone who likes to write, the classes Writing and Use of English have made me focus on my writing skills and how to improve upon them. Although sometimes I still feel very stuck in my ways, I’m trying hard to keep myself open to corrections and improvements.
All in all, I’ve been very satisfied with my grades this semester. Even if I had gotten all sevens I’d believe that there’s always room for improvement. Additionally, I have enjoyed all my classes this semester. Each one has taught me something new and different, bringing me one step closer to the future professional I hope to become.
Socially. I had hoped to make more friends my age. All of my high school friends were going to college and therefore were justifiably busy most of the time. Also, everyone at work was older than me, so interacting with people my age sounded fun.
Since the very first day, I knew this was going to be an interesting group of individuals to study with. Quickly we became a pretty close group, perhaps because we’re such a small group but it also could be because mostly everyone seems to understand that we are all in this together like High School Musical. We can all succeed if we decide to help each other.
Anyone familiar with my e-portfolio will know that Maite has been my rock with The Flatmates. Tamara Silva and Fran have helped me so much with my other classes, and, of course, who could forget Los Bunkers?
In actuality, I like all my classmates and look forward to getting to know them more over the next few years.
Another sweet treat was getting feedback from the Language 3 students. They were all kind with their responses and gave what feedback they could. I’ve tried to incorporate all the advice they gave me and will continue to do so moving forward.
Emotionally. I wanted more direction in my life. For far too long it felt like I wasn’t going anywhere and staying in the same place. The pandemic took a toll on me, as it did everyone else, and I just wanted to be better off emotionally than I was before.
Truthfully speaking I wasn’t in the best emotional state going into university. I was really lost and unhappy with my life, in the sense that I didn’t know what I was doing with it. I’ve been very fortunate to have a good support system around me, and the encouragement I received about going to university was helpful.
Since going to the university I was able to add on to my support system. I now also have professors and classmates who seem to want to help me as well. The best thing that this program — and university life in general — has given me is purpose.
I wake up every day with someplace to go, people to see, and things to do.
I don’t think I really need anything more than that right now.
Just like four years ago, I’m not 100% certain that English Pedagogy will be my future but after one semester I feel pretty confident that this could be a possible future for me. Regardless, I will embrace my time here as much as I can; absorbing all the information that I learn, connecting with as many people as possible, and continuing to grow into the person I want to become.
When I started working at a school four years ago as an English teaching assistant, I had no idea it would bring me here. If anything this is a testament that you never know what the future holds. I will continue to remain open to what the future holds for me in this English Pedagogy program.
SONG OF THE SEMESTER:
