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)