Happy 2023 everyone! I hope you all had a restful winter break and got plenty of sleep, I know I did! During my break I went to my optometrist and she said that I was getting more than enough sleep! (This was because I had no reason to wake up for any classes) 😀
Some of my winter break highlights were spending time with my whole family, movie nights with my family, seeing my hometown friends, making charcuterie boards, and volunteering at a homeless shelter.
For me, last quarter consisted of getting acclimated to the rhythm and life of UCI. I will admit that towards the end of the quarter, I started to feel less motivated because of the thought of winter break and exhaustion that was slowly starting to creep in. This resulted in me trying to take a “short nap” at 10pm and wake up by 10:30pm. In reality, I was sleeping at 10pm (which meant I was getting a decent amount of sleep), but meant that I had to catch up on work that I was aiming to complete the night before. Thankfully, I had classmates, encouraging friends, UCI’s LARC, and review sessions that were led by positive Learning Assistants, to study with for my final exams.
One class that I will miss from last quarter would be my Physical Science 5, Introduction to Science and Math Teaching. In this course, we had the special opportunity to go to an elementary school, work with a teacher and the classroom, and experience the day in the life of an elementary school teacher. I will miss my fieldwork teacher and always being greeted with a smile from the students that I worked with.
As I am beginning my second week of Winter quarter, I can proudly say that it is quite different from what I experienced during the first couple of weeks of my Fall quarter. Some habits I have implemented are developing a consistent schedule and including office hours into my Google calendar. I did this because I want to make it a routine to attend them weekly. I am excited for this new quarter, attending my club meetings, strengthening my friendships and forming new ones, and enjoying every moment of the next 10 weeks. I also hope that I stay healthy for the majority of Winter quarter! Staying in good health is extremely important in college. I would highly recommend wearing a mask during the Flu season (November-December) in your lecture halls because this is when midterms and final exams occur.
Again, Happy 2023!
#ZOTZOTZOT
Here are some photos of my charcuterie boards.
This one was for a New Year’s Eve get together with hometown friends 
This one was made by me and my hometown best friend.