As my first semester at UMBC is coming to a close, I thought I’d give a review of my experience as a new transfer student living on campus.

I’d like to start this post with the aspect of UMBC that left the biggest impression on me: the food. And by lasting impression, I mean chronic disappointment. I came into UMBC eating a primarily vegetarian diet but soon realized that if I wanted to occasionally have a semblance of flavor in my meals, I would be eating meat. The options are limited, almost never healthy AND delicious, and I think would be very difficult to navigate eating on campus for people who may have food restrictions. 3/10

Following this, I’d like to touch on the place I spent the most time in: my dorm. Other than the obscene costs, I actually have quite enjoyed my dorming experience, mainly due to two factors; one being that I now have a lovely friendship with my randomly assigned roommate, and secondly that I have my own individual room in suite-style dorms, meaning that I have a lot of privacy and autonomy over my space. Despite making two really amazing friendships from my dorming, the rest of the social aspect has been somewhat lackluster, although that may be due to my more reserved personality. With all of that being said, I will definitely be commuting next year because in my opinion, those factors don’t make up for how much money it costs to live in the dorms. Regarding accessibility, the elevator is incredibly slow, makes very concerning noises, and the automatic door opener to leave my floor doesn’t work so… 7/10

Moving on to a more positive note, I have thoroughly enjoyed all of my classes with the exception of genetics, primarily because it has 200+ people in it. All of my professors have been great with communication, I’ve been engaged in the material, and especially in discussion-based classes such as this one, thoroughly enjoyed both and engaging and listening to conversations with classmates. Prior to taking this class, I had no background in GWST and came in with an open mind. Even with that initial mindset, I’m surprised by the impact this class has had on me. It’s broadened not just my way of thinking and understanding of embodiment, disability, weight, bodies in the context of work, etc, but also my overall world view. So many of my peers were incredibly well-spoken and knowledgeable on the topics discussed, and I can wholeheartedly say that loved taking this class and will assuredly take more GWST classes in the future. 9/10

Although a lot of my review is somewhat negative, that’s mostly because being critical is more fun lol. However, my time at UMBC thus far has ultimately been quite nice. I don’t regret coming here, I’m excited for the connections and learning that I will engage in, and I’m looking forward to my remaining time here. Thank you for making my first semester at UMBC an enjoyable one, and happy holidays!