B-Prep is a program where a number of admitted Bradley students are chosen and are given the opportunity to move onto campus early and get some of the ins and outs of the area around them. During my B-Prep session, there were twenty students selected and only eight showed up. This was my personal diary during the program.
Dear B-Prep Staff,
Entry 1
The college experience is supposedly this glorified thing that directors of movies love to use. I reference movies because that’s something I like to study with being a theater major. I have written a list of what I expect to be taught and told this first week but nothing is perfect or written in stone. I realized that when I walked down the hallway of Harper hall and thought I was going to be brutally murdered because of how dark and quiet it was. No, this is nothing of importance but I thought I should tell someone. The college experience is the very first thing on my list. I can gladly say that today, Monday August 15th, at 11:45am, I have gotten that. The second thing on my list is a smooth transition. I definitely think that move in time should be earlier, and that B-prep should start a day after you move in to give you time to settle. B-Prep is, I think, making this transition from college to highschool ten times easier. The third thing on the list is how to better grasp information for a class that I cannot wrap my head around. I feel that I am there and engaging but I can not ever take that information from the teacher’s lecture into common life which leads me to my next point. How to make classes fun that some may see as boring. If I believe a class to be boring, I will show up and try but I know myself too well to say I would pass. My final thing that I hope to get along with this journey are easier ways to communicate with my peers and when the best time is to eat at the dining halls.
Entry 2
This day has been amazing. Most of us hung out after the movie and sat in the quad I believe and went back to one of the residence halls to play in the lounge. I feel that we are all super close and some of us already promised to hang out after B-Prep is over. We discussed renting a study room and just being together for a little reunion when school starts. I think this group in itself takes and gives a lot when it comes to relationships. We were all selected at the right place at the right time. Yesterday, I will be honest, I was so tired I didn’t want to go to dinner, our last class session, or even the movie. It was hard staying awake but everyone else gave me their energy and before I knew it, I did not want to go to my dorm.
Entry 3
The scavenger hunt is going great. I have taken about 4 pictures and plan on taking more during the field trips. Fun fact about the field trips: I thought that they were fake. I did not think we were going to a baseball game or a zoo. I was expecting it to be virtual or a mini diagram of these things, but food orders were taken. Crazy, right? I have just been incredibly surprised with how this prep for college has been going.
I am looking forward to really putting the pictures I took to make a presentation. I really want it to be drawn out well. I am also excited to see how everyone else in this group thinks. I also hope everyone contributes.
Entry 4
The last thing I want to discuss is the pros and cons of the program. Everything you guys are doing is great. All of the classes and programs are helping us in different ways. Again, I would say give us a move-in day and a day after that to rest. I would also give us more breaks in the future because we do tend to get restless running around class to class all day, especially that first day. We were all tired. I think even giving just an hour or so just to sit, or find a nice place where we are calm and able to sit back and breathe. That’s all, keep the fun activities please.
The things asked by the students during the program I feel have been answered and deliberated on. If there were one or two questions not answered, it’s not bad. A majority of the questions were still answered and will be helping us become the students who we want to be in the future. Going into worries I would, again, just tell the RA’s and the rest of the staff that this program is a thing. I feel that housing and RA’s were the biggest stressors or worries because it’s not even a full first week and we already have people who don’t like us. We feel we may need to move already because they weren’t expecting it and we have started on the wrong foot. This issue has been addressed around us but that’s it, I have not seen it addressed to the RA’s. I think that moving in would have been better. Of course it managed to get done, but moving in could have helped with relations and stress of trying to be quick. I have an album full of pictures we can use and that correlate with this experience. I definitely think the most important things that we learned would be to make a schedule, make sure to relax and eat, make your mind uncomfortable to help with study habits, talk to advisors, and ask for help. So many people have led us in the direction of success and I really appreciate it.
Dear future Bradley Student,
This program looks great on paper and a lot better in person. There are parts that are going to be challenging, but you are always rewarded for your hard work. The group of students you go through this with will probably be your friends for (hopefully) the rest of your life, but surely the rest of your college experience at Bradley. At the beginning of the week, it is a lot of work. You have a bunch of sessions in one day, you will probably get the most sleep at this time, and sometimes it’ll be awkward. For us, the awkward part was irrelevant. All of this to say, you will learn something in every class you step into. The advice I would give you is to take risks, be open, be loud, laugh, make jokes, dance if that’s what you do, but do not stay in your shell. The best part about this program is that it’s small enough to where you can make genuine connections. I know I have and I know you will too. It all starts with one person showing their true colors. Something else that will be helpful in this program would be to bring a computer or tablet and headphones. You will be on it a lot and the night before that presentation, you will need headphones. Please, thank me later. Also, bring a large number, if not two or three, of blankets because it’s freezing in the residence halls. Speaking about the residents halls, the RA’s may not know you’re coming. This may cause hardships because they are trying to get the halls decorated. Just remember to be respectful even if they are mean for absolutely no reason. During this program, you will also meet a lot of people. Talk to every one of them. These people are here to help you and they are going to remember you because you get to spend an extra week with them and form a relationship with people you can talk to. They are all extremely kind so you have nothing to worry about. One more thing I would say is to take time to yourself. This can be overwhelming and you are going to be with just these people for a week. Be safe but take some time on yourself and reflect. It’s fun and you will love it.
My Goodbye to B-Prep
Finally, my favorite part of B-Prep, the conversations and relationships we made. Going to a new school at any grade is scary considering you do not know anyone. This group is a unique one though. Along with all of the class sessions, field trips, and this project, we have made genuine friendships. This list is long but every event listed helped with how strong our friendship is. From ping pong, the dance parties, sleepovers, taking pictures of the moon, telling secrets, getting lost on campus, going to the baseball game, the zoo, the volleyball game, to breakfast, and game night, to missing rohilio, to Alicia Keys singing, to tug of war, touring all of our dorms, the heart to hearts, to the we couldn’t stop laughing, with free popcorn, late night circle talks on the quad, all of the restless nights, and magic tricks, to guitar playing, to getting road rage, and dancing to polish music, and the uh-uhs, and the wheel where everyone else got something cool and I got a pencil. Whether we are competing against each other or fighting against sleep, to the ordinary eye we are a class of freshmen who are just going through the motions of college when in reality, we are the first group of students to do the B-Prep program in person. I don’t know how it was achieved but I believe this experience will keep us close throughout our years at Bradley. I think everything happens for a reason and this group was the perfect group to start with. I also just want to say, whether you are presenting with me or not, like the theme song from bunk’d goes, you are all my home away from home. You made it easy to be myself and feel as though I belong somewhere. Thank you all. I also want to thank the faculty and staff for cleaning up our messes, feeding us, and guiding us through this process. Hopefully, we will continue to have conversations with all of you during our college experience at Bradley.