Worries set on backburner as year heats up

JMU students of all ages expound on their hopes, fears

Although the school year just started, senior Andy Pincus admits he fears graduating.

"I never thought that I would ever be a senior, and now that [senior year] is here, it’s quite frightening," he said. "When I first got to JMU, I didn’t know how well I was going to adapt to life here, and now that I am leaving at the end of this school year, I am scared because I love it."

As the campus has changed over the summer, so has the current study body. With the new semester, students readjust to college life, and with that comes a lot of responsibility.

Some students look forward to being back at school, while others fear everything that this semester has in store.

"Probably the biggest thing I’m fearful about is academic success because, for the first time, no one’s there to make sure I’m turning things in on time, keeping up to date with classes," said freshman John Weaver.

Sophomore Nick Dwyer admits that although he was "unexpectedly nervous" to be starting his general education classes last year as a freshman, this year, his anxiety has not completely subsided.

"Now that I find myself once again repeating the general education approach with classes for this year, I feel pressed to declare a major," he said.

Last year sophomore Laura Romaniello was somewhat apprehensive about entering college and being able to find her classes. As a sophomore, however, she feels less threatened.

"I know what to expect and I am more prepared [for classes and the college lifestyle," she said. With one year of college experience under her belt, Romaniello says she hopes to motivate herself "to do well and concentrate on school."

Some students are able to push aside their back-to-school woes and look forward to the social aspect of returning to JMU.

Weaver said meeting and greeting at JMU is easier than he thought it would be.

"Socially, JMU is more welcoming than I imagined it to be. Generally people introduce themselves and are pretty polite," he said.

However, he also feels his pre-college experiences didn’t completely prepare him for what he found at JMU.

"So far, the adjustment to college has been both easy and tough. In some ways high school prepared me very well for some of the challenges that lay ahead in college, but there are definitely a lot of things that you just can’t prepare for," said Weaver.

Pincus most looks forward to seeing friends that he did not get to see over the summer.

"People always have good stories after summer vacation and it’s good to get together and laugh about it," he said.