Just when fall quarter finished, I thought college can’t possibly get harder right? Again I was wrong. Week 1 of winter quarter just finished and I am already behind my reading and understanding of classes and content (Yikes! Help me). However, looking back at my fall quarter AFTER final grades came out, I realised I can’t repeat the same negative mistakes I made in fall in winter, otherwise the situation would not be pretty. For example: in fall quarter, besides being a Zot Blogger (it’s a great experience!), I had no other way to spend time productively besides gaming, sleeping, and studying/homework/classes. Unfortunately I never took action and I started to become less interesting compared to fall quarter. So my advice: if you find yourself having more time for other things, look for opportunities. Remember those spam emails you got from giving your email to clubs you never attended? Well now is the time to use them. Ask them if it’s not too late to join. 98% of the time it’s not too late. For my winter quarter, I am looking to some beneficial organizations to join.
Another example: I noticed I had an abundance of time (to certain extent) in fall quarter, and I never made any good use out of it, like learning something fun and useful. I realised this more towards during winter break when I saw I had absolutely (no hw, no classes, no work) during the break, and I decided to learn python. There was another reason that played part in the lesson: taking education in your own hands. I heard those words before, but I never understood what they really meant. You may think spending a mere hour every week isn’t productive to learn something new, but I was surprised. Within a couple of days I was able to knock down the basics of python and started to create programs too. My point is: use your time wisely and take education in your own hands.
Final example I promise. A little bit of history: I took freshmen edge and I saw that I always went to the TA or the professor’s office hours after every quiz or hw when I had questions. Now the example: I noticed in my fall quarter, I rarely stuck around to talk to my professors, or the TAs and never really went to their office hours. During summer I always went (keep in mind I had one class and one university study for summer) for help, which actually helped me greatly as I passed the class with an A. In fall, I had questions, ideas to talk to professors, but something pushed me back, and with that, those questions, ideas all dissolved and that quarter my grades weren’t as good. What I am saying is always go talk to professors and TAs for help of any kind. They are willing to help, plus they can help you for a letter of recommendation your senior year! This winter quarter, I will go to office hours when I need help (and trust me, I need a lot of help).
Those were some of the things I reflected upon my fall quarter and I will make changes to improve my winter quarter. Honestly, it’s going to be hard to change my negative habits, but it’s not impossible right?