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A letter to me from 10 weeks ago

Dear me in the past,

Savor your time because these ten weeks will fly by faster than you can ever imagine. It may seem strange, but in ten weeks’ time, you will have grown so much—academically, socially, and even personally. A lot will happen, some things good, some things bad. For example, you will ace your first-ever college midterm, but only after being bedridden with covid for a week. Here are some things you should keep in mind to have a great quarter:

Studies are important. You are here to get a degree, and doing well in school is priority number one. However, there will be many opportunities to have fun and express yourself, and you should take them as they come. College is all about learning, but that includes all types of learning, not just academic. Go out and experience new things, and learn learn learn. Things may not always work out for you, but every new thing you try will act as a learning experience. 

Another thing to prioritize is rest and recovery. You might get a little bit of FOMO (fear of missing out), but just know that the priority is you. Take some time for yourself, and know that you don’t have to go to every event. When you find yourself at a crossroads of what to do, sometimes the best is to take a nap. No, seriously. Take naps. You won’t regret it. Mental health breaks (naps) are essential and will power you through these 10 weeks, helping you feel so much better throughout each day. 

On the other side of the coin, coke coffee. Ok, I’ll explain. I’m going to tell you now that Writing 60 not be fun, as time management isn’t your specialty I’m here to warn you of a few all-nighters but also introduce to you coke coffee—your soon-to-be best friend. Combining the taste (and caffeine) of coke and coffee, this capitalist abomination will save an alarming amount of deadlines from becoming overdue. With this new best friend, writing will be bad, but not terrible. 

In conclusion, good times are ahead. Your first quarter will make you grow so much, and even though it may seem hard at times, just know that it’ll all work out. Maintaining a healthy balance between school, friends, and rest is important, and I know you’ll do great. You got this! Keep your head held high and don’t forget to be an academic weapon.

Have a good ten weeks!

Ian

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Hold the Girl

(Title of this post is taken from this excellent Rina Sawayama song)

Hello me of the past,

It’s me – well, you from the future – to tell you that you’ll survive.  A lot will happen in these ten weeks, including things that you wouldn’t expect, but you’ll survive.  You’ll do a lot of things right this quarter: you got involved in things that interested you, no matter how much they may have daunted you and you’ve managed to keep your grades afloat ahead of finals.  You’ll do some things wrong too, though, and that’s okay because you’ll learn from them and become all the better for it.  The quarter system moves faster than you’d expect– plan ahead whenever you can and don’t let yourself fall behind.  I’ll tell you that we’ve slid back into routine by the end of the quarter, but it would be nice if you could get some semblance of order in your life before you start.  Oh, also, it would be really helpful if you started fixing your sleeping schedule; I’m still suffering the consequences now.

You’ll make it through the quarter, though, and that’s all that matters.  It’s time for a break now, and I think you deserve the rest you’ll receive– I’m going to use this time to mend routines, practice hobbies, and try to establish habits that will be helpful next quarter.  One problem we had this quarter is that we had no established routine – we did whatever we wanted whenever we wanted, and that resulted in a lot of things being pushed back later than they should have been.  When we tried to establish order through time blocking and scheduling, we either ended up falling behind on schedule or ignoring it due to an overload of work.  I think it would be good to try to have established hours for work, play, and sleep– that way, you know what you’re supposed to be doing and when you’re supposed to be doing it, even if what you do during those hours varies.

We did fine this quarter, but we’ll do even better in the next; I think that change is always hard, and this change was even harder than normal due to unique, unexpected circumstances (spoiler alert: you get a surgery).  So, during this first quarter, just do your best– spend time doing things you enjoy, don’t waste too much time on (said while shaking fist at the sky) that darn phone, and figure out some sort of system so that you know what things to get them done and when to do them.  Try to create a life that’s comfortable for you– you’ll feel so much better if you don’t avoid that big assignment until the day it’s due, and if you spend your time engaging in hobbies rather than watching another mindless YouTube video.  And most importantly, try to have some fun!

Sincerely,

The me of the present

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Letter to my past self

Dear Whitney (from 10 weeks ago), 

You are about to begin a new, fulfilling, crazy, and exciting chapter in your life. I want to first start off by saying that you are going to be ok. Everything will work out even though there are a lot of unknowns about this new chapter and your major. I know that you are considering switching from an Undeclared major to a Math major. I think that if an opportunity opens up to declare, you should declare! I would keep your Undeclared Advisor updated with the decisions about your major so that if you end up switching, the process will be as smooth as possible! I know that you are worried about the quick pace of the quarter system, but remember all of the advice you received from current UCI students about keeping up with the workload and attending all of the lectures. 

Although you originally thought that you would be living in a quad and enjoying the social environment, please be grateful that you got housing and the roommates that you chose on the housing application 🙂. Second, I want you to remember that your dorm experience is what you make of it. Your new dorm hall will be social if you make the effort to meet as many people as you can (which I know you can do). Who knows, you might have someone from your high school who is in your same dorm.  (*Zot Blog readers, this is true! One of my friends from high school lives on the same floor as me in my dorm building.) 

I want to give you some advice about experiencing social life in college. I want you to know that you will have the opportunity of going out to fieldwork at an elementary school (for UCI CalTeach), you will go to the beach, and Irvine Spectrum. I also want to advise you to balance your schoolwork and the times when you go out with friends. If you want to go to an event, I would finish up any assignments before the event so that you are not stressed out and so you can enjoy every moment spending time with friends. I also want to give you a heads up about how you may start to feel FOMO from the first week of college because of the various events and activities on and off campus. I promise you that if you miss one or two events, missing one will not make or break your college experience!

Lastly, be excited about this fall quarter. It is going to go by in a blink of an eye, so make sure to enjoy every single moment. Take advantage of UCI’s resources such as the Learning and Resource Center (LARC), office hours, and the clubs on campus! From these resources, I can guarantee that you will meet some kind people and form new friendships. 

Best,

Whitney (from the future, 11/9/2022)

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How to survive First Quarter

“Don’t wait for the right opportunity: create it” (Stephen C. Hogan)

Starting this first quarter, I remember being hesitant on how to start things. Studying and learning around campus, I tried everything researching how others took notes and how they survived their first quarter of college. Ultimately I really ended up back where I started, overwhelmed with too many different ways, not sure how to really hold myself accountable doing it too. I really ended up not waiting for the right solution, the perfect method for me. Instead I just sat down and started working in class in my own way, sometimes using helpful tactics I learned from others, but mostly relying on my own intuition and methods to make the most of what I could, the best choice I’ve made.

We finally made it all way through first quarter! I really enjoyed these past 10 weeks (including the finals) and I really can say that I’ve learned a lot from all of this. Right off the bat, I can’t believe how many opportunities and freedom we have provided in college. Hundreds of classes, clubs, opportunities and people to meet are always a walk away. And whenever you or your friends we always have tens of shops waiting outside of campus too.

Living on campus dorms for the first year was a great experience. If you can do it for your first year, definitely go for it. It’s a great way to get to know so many interesting and unique people in the same shoes as you and in a way, a sample of living independently/ away from home. Being with others in the same situation as you, you never really have to learn and experience things on your own. Everyone is open to help out and give advice to anyone open to ask.

My bits of advice before the next quarter: be sure to enjoy when you get to relax, but be sure to be prepared and start making plans for ahead. Don’t let your major and grades be the sole deciding factor of your future, what people truly look for is interest in the field and actually those genuinely wanting to work and research with them. Finally, even if you don’t think you are doing something 100% right or as good as others, your effort to make it happen, to try is infinitely times better then never trying at all.

See you next quarter,

Nicholas Chou

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How to see Events

“Individually we are one drop but together, we are an ocean.” (Ryunosuke Satoro)

When I was younger, I rarely watched any kind of sports games, not understanding why others would get so riled up, excited, or enthusiastic to watch and look forward to seeing their team’s games. That was until my high school marching band made us perform on the side as a pep-band for our home football games. At first I was just bored and confused, having one of my friends explain the rules and the plays during the game. And fans around us on the bleachers cheered for each touchdown, yelled with the cheerleaders, and sing along with whatever our band played, I was soon moving and cheering with everyone else, charged with the buzzing energy everyone seemed to bounce back and forth on our stands. Now I show to the games, a fan, a loud supporters for the Huskies!

Now in college, there’s practically club and program events every day; and with a school so diverse and large, who would’ve guessed otherwise. Each and every event is a way to show to a group that enjoy and support a common idea or cause. Each a different way to show pride and unity for what they enjoy, each a way that show’s everyone a part of our school’s pride. Currently, we have two huge events known and participated across campus. That being the highly anticipated basketball games and the new, revolutionary TA Strikes happening around campus. Both strong ways to show how we stick together, one being us against another university, to us standing together with other universities. These programs all have a power to them, an unspoken kind of aura that makes you only able to stand with them and work to a common goal. Big and changing or small and entertaining, events and programs at UCI are definitely something you’ve got to experience!

Hope I can see you at one one day,

Nicholas Chou