At the beginning of the quarter, I prioritized college life into three categories: practicing wellness, exploring new things, and doing well in my classes. Right from move-in day, I pushed myself out of my comfort zone. I woke up early to do yoga at the gym. I made it a habit to journal for ten minutes every day. My friends and I went to a different place on The Ave every week to try out new foods. We also cooked meals in the lounge with ingredients we got from the District Market. I went to some of the football games, which is something I never did in high school. Two years after quitting piano, I started playing piano again and spontaneously tested every piano on West Campus. I learned how to play pool and foosball at Area 01. I tried to see the sunset on the Terry rooftop as many times as I could. It has been incredible to be a part of this tightly knit community where I can meet new people while balancing academics and extracurriculars.

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An important goal I had for myself this year was to get involved in my intended major, neuroscience. I’m really passionate about writing so I wanted to find ways where I could combine that with my interest in science. I was one of seven applicants accepted into the fast track program at The Daily and I had the opportunity to cover some incredible stories. My favorite one so far was about a study on how deaf infants are more advanced at following visual cues than hearing infants. I interviewed one of the lead researchers at the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences and it was inspiring to talk to someone who’s so passionate about her work. I also became an editor for UW’s neuroscience journal Grey Matters, where I was exposed to more topics within neuroscience and learned the structure of scientific journal articles which was completely new to me. Another way I got involved was meeting with the neuroscience adviser and reaching out to students in the major. I emailed several peer mentors in the Honors program and met up with them at the beginning of the quarter, and I joined the Neurobiology Cub’s Mentorship Program where I got paired with a senior who is already in the major.

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Academically, I figured that college would be a lot more work than high school, but I eventually realized that the workload was rather similar to what I experienced as a student in the IB program. I managed my time well so that I always met the deadlines for assignments and projects and scored well on my midterms. I even explored the resources that UW offered, including CLUE and the Chemistry Study Center. Although they weren’t as useful as I expected them to be, it was nice to know that I had options to go for help when I needed it. Since I’m taking an English class next quarter, I’m hoping to check out the Odegaard Writing and Research Center if I ever need guidance on essays.

 

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It’s hard to believe that I’ve grown this much in just the past few months. I’ve realized that it’s important to set good intentions every day and learn from both my successes and my mistakes. By the end of the year, I hope that I’ve had to chance to meet more people I’ve never met before and engage in meaningful work, whether that be the work I do in my extracurricular activities or potential research opportunities. Although I’m grateful that I get to cherish the moments I’m experiencing now, I’m looking forward to what’s about to come and I know these next four years are going to be some of the best years of my life.