It is the second week of the quarter and I am already a little exhausted. A lot of this is my own fault as my sleep schedule is not the best (this is a recurring theme in my blog posts) and I am getting less sleep than I need to function (since the quarter started, I’ve been averaging 6 ½ hours. Yes, I’m aware many would call this rookie numbers, but I can’t live like this). But compared to last quarter, I am taking more classes that are more academically intensive and in many ways, I am thriving. I am the type of person who enjoys being busy because I tend to waste my free time when I have too much of it, but I am beginning to settle into the rhythm of the quarter and enjoying it all very much.
Time passes by so quickly at UCI that I feel like it’s been a million years since spring break when it’s only been around two weeks. I had a relatively quiet spring break, spent mostly reading (Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens), playing video games, talking to friends, getting really into the K-pop group TXT, and getting excited for the new quarter! It was nice to have that period to recharge and reflect and I feel like I was able to go into this quarter with two feet planted firmly on the ground.
In this last quarter of my freshman year, I think my only goal is to always enjoy and to always be thinking; starting next week, I’m going to start having projects/exams/”midterms” weekly, and the best I can do is try not to be swept up by the current. Also, I think that having so many things happen means that I have all the more things to reflect on; I’ve found that the value systems I developed during high school have become subconscious habits and no longer occupy the forefront of my mind. I’m trying to change that and to spend more time – both this year and the next – thinking about the person who I want to be, even if that person changes from week to week.
For now, it’s time to keep on keeping on. To any students reading this, best of luck during this spring quarter – which one of my professors referred to as “not Week 2, but more like Week 14 of winter quarter”! Wishing the best for all of us.