Part I:
This year was an exhilarating, challenging year that included many new adventures but also held its fair share of rough patches. The upsides for this year include making new friends through classes and the Honors Program, traveling to the Amazon Rainforest (definitely my favorite), and just getting to experience being on the #hottestcollegeinAmerica’s campus. Going from not ever wanting to come to UC to falling in love with the campus, I can’t believe my first year is already over. Although my freshman year was more wonderful than I could have imagined, I also had to deal with a hardship that I had to overcome. In my spring semester as I was planning for classes to take in the fall and preparing for my spring break trip to the Amazon, my dad ended up needing to have open heart surgery. Needless to say I was incredibly stressed out with trying to go back home to be with my family through this ordeal and keep up with my homework/classes. However, with the help from my advisors, professors, and family I managed to overcome and finish the semester with a higher gpa than my first semester. I learned a lot from having to deal with this experience but I especially learned the importance of balance. I had to learn how to balance my stress with homework due dates and projects on top of balancing leaving the country for 10 days with no service while my dad was recovering from a major surgery.
One thing I would change about this year is learning to slow down and focus on living in the moment. I have always been a planner in my life and in high school I was planning for college and then first semester I was planning for my classes for next semester and preparing for finals while scheduling meetings/organization activities and volunteering. Then, second semester was spent planning for the next year and my study abroad plans for the spring, but, then I realized I was spending more time planning than I was enjoying the present. Without realizing it, my days in the dorm were becoming fewer and fewer and then when my dad had to have surgery I began to understand the importance of being in the moment. So, obviously my type A personality will never change but I now appreciate living in the now which I wish I would have realized sooner in the year.
One thing I would change about this year is learning to slow down and focus on living in the moment. I have always been a planner in my life and in high school I was planning for college and then first semester I was planning for my classes for next semester and preparing for finals while scheduling meetings/organization activities and volunteering. Then, second semester was spent planning for the next year and my study abroad plans for the spring, but, then I realized I was spending more time planning than I was enjoying the present. Without realizing it, my days in the dorm were becoming fewer and fewer and then when my dad had to have surgery I began to understand the importance of being in the moment. So, obviously my type A personality will never change but I now appreciate living in the now which I wish I would have realized sooner in the year.
Part II:
A piece of advice that I would like to give myself as I prepare for the upcoming year, academically, would be to understand that gpa isn’t everything. Yes, gpa is important but it’s not worth crying over. In high school, all I cared about was my gpa and I worked hard so that when college application time came around I could go to a school of my choosing but in college I realized gpa is not worth losing my mind over. I need to focus on other activities to such as my volunteering activities or my participation in campus organizations. A goal I have set for myself is to become more involved in the UC community by being more active in campus organizations such as participating more in Honors Ambassadors events and joining the tour guide organization. After taking another year of Spanish (making 6 total), I hope to use my speaking/communicating ability to give back to the community by offering to be a bilingual assistant at events and tutoring children to either help them learn a new language or help students who do not speak English. Overall, I absolutely loved my freshman year and with these goals/plans I intend to make my upcoming sophomore year even better!