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FYEP Grey Havens Philanthropy Project

My hall Grey Havens is part of what is known as the First Year Excellence Program, or FYEP for short. Every year, all of the FYEP halls organize a philanthropy, community service project. It serves as both a way to give back to the community, as well as a way for first years to build up their resume. I was personally a little skeptical at first. I thought to myself, “Man I already have so much work, is this worth it?” I figured it would be at least worth checking out, so I decided to go to the first meeting with my room mates. After the first meeting though I was totally on board.

The project is organized and overseen by our wonderful UU counselor Andrea, but the residents are the ones who actually plan everything out and make the project their own. Attendance isn’t mandatory, but we’ve really been trying to get more people to come out. Even if residents choose not to be a part of the planning committee, they can still help with the event itself. As of now, we have around fourteen people who show up regularly, and we’re making good progress! Our goal right now is to hold a community event at the Brookdale Senior Living Facility over by UTC, and we’re still in the process of communicating and getting something officially organized with them. We’re thinking of holding a kind of roaring 20’s themed dance/game night with the residents, and we’ve been trying to think of different ideas for activities.

Right now I’m in charge of putting together a music playlist for the event, and I’m also working with other people to come up with fundraiser ideas. Other people are in charge of communicating with Brookdale, trying to recruit people, and managing the project’s Facebook page. Although it can be a lot of work depending on what you volunteer to do, I see it as one of those things where the more you put into it, the more you get out. So far it’s been really exciting coming up with ideas and seeing our group making progress. I’m really looking forward to executing the actual event and seeing all of our efforts come to fruition. If you’re an incoming freshman reading this and choose the first year excellence program as your desired theme, definitely make an effort to come out to the events. I know it doesn’t seem like it’d be fun to add work on top of all the other responsibilities you already have, but I can say for sure that it’s been totally worth it.

 

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Valentine’s Day Shenanigans

It all started about 3 weeks ago when my roommate saw this flyer on Instagram:

My roommate told me there was an event where I could get Hydro Flask for free. To me this was a surprise because a regular Hydro Flask costs around $30-60 so to me this was a great deal, so I asked what this event was and he said a matchmaker event, where they would pair you with someone based on how you answered the questions on their survey. After hearing that my decision changed to NO. Feeling as though he could convince me, my roommate decided to open up the survey, fill it out, and leave it for me to submit when I came back from class later that same day. I however, was not amused and closed out of that tab. The following day, my roommate asked me if I submitted the survey to which I said no. Looking back, he was probably getting annoyed with me because he then took to our friends back in Eastvale saying “Ay yall gotta convince josh to do this”. Luckily there were still some friends that would take my side in this issue because a number of them were arguing that the free stuff needs to be like “a PS4/Korean BBQ/Monster Hunter World all in one to bait josh” while others took my roommate’s side. It was at this point where I learned that my roommate was planning to redo the survey and rather than wait for me to hit submit, hit submit for me. Then, he noted that I would HAVE to go since I was going to be paired with someone apparently and it would be rude to leave them standing. Upon learning of this plan, I promptly changed the password to my computer (before this event, he knew my computer’s password to gain access to my sound system).

The next day he asked me that if one of our mutual friends thought it was a good idea for me to go would I? I agreed having complete faith that our mutual friend, Brendon, would take my side in this argument and I would not have to sign up just to help my roommate get a Hydro Flask. This was my critical mistake because when he called up Brendon, I swear that he must’ve bribed him beforehand or something because Brendon betrayed my trust in him and told us that he also thought that I should sign up for the matchmaker event. Jokingly I told him that he was the one that was supposed to destroy the dark side not join it. Brendon responded by saying “Hey, you never know you could meet the one.” To which I told him to get out of my room. Now backed into a corner, I played my final card to attempt and get a positive outcome from this argument. I told the two of them “I’ll do it later” with no actual intent to do it.  I almost got away with it but Brendon and my roommate knew me for too long and knew that I wouldn’t do it so they just sat there, staring at me, and said, “We’re not leaving until you sign up for this.” Defeated I gave them my word that I would sign up for it before the sign-up window closed and went back to whatever I was doing before my roommate brought Brendon up to my room.

That weekend, I went home and signed up for the matchmaker event since I gave my word to both of them. So at this point the survey consisted of basic questions like:
What are some hobbies/interests of yours?
Music Genres?
Major?
Additional Comments?

After filling it out I just submitted it and waited.

On the day of the event, I had to ask my Resident Adviser where the Conejo Suite was since I never been there. Upon learning of its location I made my way over and found that rather than the matchmaker event as I was expecting, the poster in the window said Mesa Court Social. Confused, I waited until a little later to go in (since I was still early). When I did walk in, there was only one other person in the entire room and somehow her color under her name tag (which was just a piece of tape with your name and a color) matched mine so I walked over and tried to strike up a conversation while waiting for my roommate to arrive. As the social event went on it was getting obvious that there was no sort of matchmaking being made so I just strolled over to my roommate and dorm members and just sat with them for most of the night. While there was hot chocolate and doughnut holes, there was no stirring straws to mix the hot chocolate so I just kinda had to wait it out. That night, I ended up meeting the Vice President of the Mesa Court Council who seemed like the kind of person who would have that position in my opinion. He was super sociable and upbeat about anything and everything, these attributes mixed with the fact that I ended up sitting next to him made it so that I was constantly in a conversation. While talking to the VP I noted that many of the people are only here for the Hydro Flask, much like my roommate. He agreed and realized that he should distribute the two Hydro Flasks that they bought at the middle and end of the event to ensure that people will stay. I told him that was a great idea to make people stay but I was hoping he wouldn’t execute on that plan because that would mean I had to stay the whole event to try and get the Hydro Flask that my roommate wanted. It was soon approaching time to give out the first Hydro Flask and the conditions to be entered to win were that you must have signed up on the survey. So this was the time to try and pray to whatever lucky symbol I had so that I could win the Hydro Flask, but much like my plans on the weekends, nothing happened. So I stuck around until the end of the event in hopes of winning the second one and when that time came the conditions were that you had to have walked into the event. Personally I thought this was a ridiculous idea since the whole event was supposed to be based on the Google Forms surveys so I was slightly annoyed but to those of you who won the Hydro Flasks, congratulations.

So, did the event meet my expectations? No in fact it should have been called what it was a social, not a matchmaking event. Did I find it fun and useful? It was definitely fun but I don’t enjoy being told one thing and ending up attending something completely different. Regardless, it looks like its going to be another Valentines full of ice cream for me.

Zot On!
-Josh

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February 14, 2018

Ahh yes, February 14,Valentines Day. But it was also the same week as Ash Wednesday for Catholics, and Lunar New Years! So it was a pretty eventful day for me with a Valentine’s Day dinner at the Anteatery, Ash Wednesday mass on campus at the Crystal Cove auditorium, and VSA tet general meeting.

The first event was Valentine’s Day dinner at the Anteatery on Tuesday, February 13. Around week 2, Mesa court residents received an email about a special Valentines Day dinner and people could RSVP to go with a significant other or friend. It was semi formal attire with a full five course meal, all for free at the Anteatery. I was lucky enough to be one of the few who RSVPed early enough to get a spot with my friend. Personally, I love dressing up so my roommates helped me curl my hair, do my makeup, and pick out an outfit for the dinner. The food was surprisingly good and I was so impressed it came out of the Anteatery. There was a crab cake salad, mushroom tortellini, and so much more. United Voices, an acapella group on campus, to come perform for us! It was such a nice experience because it make Valentine’s Day a little less stressful and a lot more fun. I would definitely recommend this for incoming freshman! I’m so glad I got to experience this.

Ash Wednesday was the next day on February 14, and as a Catholic, I fasted and abstain from meat so I am so thankful the Valentine’s Day dinner was the night before. For those unfamiliar with Ash Wednesday, it marks the beginning of Lent, a season of fasting and prayer in preparation for Easter. There is a special mass where Catholics can receive ashes as a sign of repentance and an outward symbol of their faith. The University Catholic Community held mass on campus at Crystal Cove which was amazing and so so convenient. I was actually so excited because there were so many people there for a mass that isn’t even mandatory. It was so cool to see everyone gathered there for mass and be part of a huge community.

Lunar New Year was also that weekend so for VSA’s general meeting, staff members wore our traditional ao dais. As an intern, I wore my ao dai too to celebrate the new year by playing games with the members and get into the spirit. So those two days were pretty eventful for me. On Valentines Day, I passed out flowers to all my friends to brighten their days, had my traditional Vietnamese ao dai on, and had ashes on my forehead for quite an eventful day. There are so many events at UCI going on, so reach out and find one that speaks out to you!

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Face Masks, Dining Halls, and Naps

College is comes with all kinds of stress: the stress of midterms, stress of relationships, stress of running to make it to the dining hall before it closes. Stress surrounds you and there’s little you can do to control it because it’s just a part of college, but you can control how you react to the stress. Now halfway through my first year of college, I’ve definitely experienced my fair share of stress and here are some ways I practice self care and deal with the stress!

  • Face masks: Okay this sounds super stereotypically girly, but it is so relaxing to be able to sit back and enjoy treating your skin after a long day. It really leaves me refreshed and ready to get back to work. It’s a quick 10-15 minutes that could make all the difference. I love doing this with my roommates because it gives us all a chance to quickly catch up and look silly together. I recommend sheet masks if you’re scared to try face masks because it’s literally a thin sheet that has serums soaked in it. It’s easy to apply and easy to take off, plus they’re pretty affordable. I bought a pack of 24 on Amazon for $12 and it’s been more than six months but I barely finished half of them. Give this a try!
  • Spontaneous Dining Hall runs: Personally, studying drains my energy, so after a couple hours of studying, I’ll grab some hallmates and we’ll go to Pippins together really quick just to get our legs moving and take a little break. A soft serve cone can temporarily relieve some stress! As a freshman, you already pay for the dining hall! So take advantage of it as much as you can.
  • Nap: Naps are essential to college. Everyone naps. Whether it’s a 10 minute power nap or an indulgent 2 hour nap, naps help you recharge and can make you way more productive! When you’re running on little sleep, sure you can be studying for hours, but it’ll be hard to retain anything. Listen to your body! If it’s saying you need a nap, take one. But remember to set an alarm because you still need to get work done!

These are some of my tried and tested ways of taking care of myself and relieving stress. In all honesty, academics are important and you should study really hard for all your exams, but in the long run, it’s way more important to take care of yourself mentally, emotionally, and physically. Make sure to take care of yourself!

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Learning How To Relax

In high school I had a chemistry teacher whose motto was: “Don’t sweat the small stuff, and everything is small stuff. Except for your health and your family.” I was kind of taken aback by this. What do you mean everything is small stuff? I’ve got four finals to study for, ACT prep, community service, how am I supposed to not sweat? When I asked him what he meant exactly, he told me to keep a broad perspective on life. It’s not like I shouldn’t try to do well in school and my extra curriculars, but I shouldn’t let those things consume my life and bog me down with stress. There’s so much more to life than we sometimes realize when we’re burdened by huge responsibilities like tests and projects. Admittedly, I still feel like my teacher’s motto is an oversimplification, but it has nevertheless stuck with me since. Going into college, I knew that things would only get more difficult, and as things got more difficult it would become even more important to manage my self care. Of course stress is an inevitability, but I’ve managed to keep it at a minimum by consciously allocating time to de-stress.

One of my old hobbies that I’ve always loved is video games. Ever since even before elementary school there was something about video games that captivated me. It’s a unique medium of entertainment where you’re required to actively engage in it, unlike with television or movies. Of course since coming to UCI I’ve had far less time to spend playing games, but every once in a while I’ll allow myself time to indulge. It serves as a really good way for me to keep in touch with my friends back home as well. Even though we’re hundreds of miles apart, it gives us an extremely easy way to interact and socialize with each other. Here at school as well, I’ve found that there are many people who are interested in games, whether casually or more competitively. I mean at the student center there’s an entire room dedicated to video games. That’s pretty incredible if you ask me.

Of course, playing video games isn’t the most physically exhausting activity, so I also make an effort to get some exercise which I think for a lot of people (although not all) helps to relieve stress. Sometimes I’ll just leave early for class and go the long way around. UCI has in my opinion a legitimately beautiful campus. Oftentimes I find that after a particularly rough day, a walk through Aldritch Park can be rather cathartic. Even if I do have three midterms and an essay and two hundred math sets due tomorrow, at least I can enjoy the nice socal weather and the scenery. Just kidding I don’t know if there’s anything you could do to comfort yourself in the face of that. But it’s definitely important to give yourself some personal time to do what makes you happy.