The Circle

Being a Penn Stater has been a life changing experience because I grew up in the city and things were done differently there. I have enjoyed and benefited from being a Penn Stater through the relationship I had with my fellow classmates. My experiences as a freshman at Penn State is a lot similar to Mae's experiences in the Circle because we are both new to a vast, and beautiful campus that has everything anybody would need. Before I became a Penn Stater, I never really thought I'd get accepted into the school in the first place. I did not think that my grades and my SAT score were high enough to get into the school, so I was very shocked and excited when I received a letter of my acceptance into the school. As Mae walked through the hall, she wonders how she even got the new and exciting job.

While Mae was still a college student, she was unable to decide what major she wanted to have a degree in. She switched from one major to the other. I am going through the same experience here. At first I was a Criminology major but now I am undecided because I do not know what major I want to focus on. When I arrived to Penn State, I was given a tour by the upper class students in order for me to know the locations of my classes on campus. Mae was also given a tour by Renata so that she'll be more familiar with offices on campus.

Being a newbie in a big environment is very exciting and overwhelming at the same time. It's exciting because you are given the opportunity to learn more about the environment you desperately want to be in. It is overwhelming because you have to adjust to the way of living in that environment. You also have to be familiar with every part of the environment because you don't want to be late for class or for work. As a newcomer, it's a lot to take in. As a newcomer in an environment, we are all connected and encouraged to become closer and go to a lot of event, try new things and be involved.

The values that each community share is that, "secrets are lies, sharing is caring, and privacy is theft". Mae's experiences in college is so similar to mine but there's only a slight difference. This difference is the fact that Mae worked a 9-5 job at a utility in her hometown. During my freshman year I am working hard to accomplish my goal of a high GPA. As a newcomer in the Circle, Mae learned quickly and worked steadily throughout the week to earn an average of 97.

In the Circle, Mae's job consists of arranging conversations, restocking pantries, making payments, and ranking human beings. The mantras that is shared by both community is that we have to be independent and be responsible adults. Also, we are expected to think fast and act slow in other to succeed in what we are aiming for. Mae is working for a purpose and I am currently in college for a purpose as well, so I believe we are both aiming for something.