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Look Back At It

As we all are approaching the end of our first year at college, it is just about time to reflect on what this year has been for us and me personally. In general, I really like reflecting on things that happen to me. I am also a big fan of self-analysis and improvement, and being able to reflect is an essential requirement to succeed in analyzing and improving yourself. I also like setting goals and making long-term plans. This helps me to make my reflection even more effective and informative.  At the beginning of the academic year, I set a goal to stay above 3.5 GPA, go to bed before 12 am, and eat more than one time a day. In general, I can say that I reached every goal that I set for myself, but if I look closely, it becomes clear that everything is not that perfect as it would seem from the first sight. While my GPA is above 3.5 and my sleep time is not always 12 am. And by not always I mean “pretty often.” I can definitely say that most of the time I do go to sleep at 12 am or earlier, but there are also times when it is way later than that. And the reason for that is pure procrastination. I still need to get better at time management and self-motivation. Regarding the food issue: I definitely started eating more, but it is still not enough. I don’t have a specific eating regime which is because I eat a lot of snacks or sandwiches during the day. So, you can see that really not all of my goals were reached properly, but this only means that I need to work harder. Nothing bad has happened and so there is no reason to panic. I really want everyone who will read this to have a similar approach to setting goals and reaching them. Trust me, this might be very useful and helpful during your first year in college.

Working on reaching goals was not my only duty this year. Being a part of ZOT Blog was among them too. I really enjoyed taking part in this and being a member of such a nice community if bloggers, interns, and Lauren. And it’s not just because I was getting additional units per quarter, but because of the precious experience that I acquired. I can say that writing blogs was a supplemental writing practice and also the place where I could use the writing skills that I acquired in composition classes.

Regarding the academics: I really like UCI. I also like most of the professors. And when saying “most,” I am not trying to say that some of the professors are bad. Every single professor that I had, no matter if liked them or not, was an expert in the field they were teaching. The only issue was that sometimes they just were not the best teachers. I don’t know if it was just them not trying hard enough or if it is really that they are not so good at teaching.  Though, I really want to take some time to express my appreciation to every professor that I had so far and that I will have in the future. I can see how hard that job is and I think there is no way an undergrad can blame a professor for not being either competent or just generally “good” at the subject they are teaching. I also encourage everyone who reads this to think the same and have the same attitude towards professors.

And finally, I want to address my “undeclaredness.” This year I was trying hard to get all the courses that I need for my major and finally, in Spring I was able to get a seat in the ICS 32! I was sure that I can do it and was just constantly trying hard to get into it. So now I am waiting for the final exam and then for my grade to be released so I can apply for Business Information Management major right away. I am really happy that everything turned out to be this way.  It is exactly how I wanted it to be and it is just another proof to the idea that being undeclared is not a bad thing but rather a good thing!

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UCI Resources

University of California, Irvine is not just a great place to go to college to, but also a great resource center. UCI students are offered free access to a lot of useful services, clubs, and resources that can both help with studies and to make life happier and more social. I would like to talk about one of those today.

I would like to tell you about the Writing Center. As you might have already heard, UCI has one of the best composition programs in the nation. Moreover, some classes require written projects that usually require good research and writing skill. UCI offers a free help with writing assignment through the Writing Center. Writing Center itself offers several different ways of help and assistance. There is an option to schedule a one-hour-long appointment with a professional teacher who could answer all the question you might have regarding your work. I personally had that experience and I can tell that I was very helpful.  We went over my nine-page-long draft checking for grammar and composition mistakes. The tutor was also a very nice and approachable person, who was clearly there to help but not just to seat and pretend to be doing the job.

Writing Center also offers peer help which sometimes also very helpful. The thing here is that peers might be able to spot some unusual mistakes problems that teachers might not. Also, peers can give an advice on how to tackle certain problems in classes in the best ways. It is also a great place to find new friends and acquaintances.

I have visited Writing Center several times and can confirm that it is definitely a helpful resource. Probably one of the best UCI has to offer! I also think that the Writing Center itself could be a reason for #UCIYes!

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A letter to an incoming U/U student

Dear New Anteater,

First, you have just been admitted to the University of California, Irvine as an Undergraduate/Undeclared, and you cannot even imagine how lucky you are. You might have already been discouraged by that fact, but I am not trying to tell you that it is not that bad, instead, I want you to understand that it is even better than being admitted directly to a specific school within the University with a specific major.

I want to address all the negative things you might have heard or read somewhere right away so we have it sorted out and don’t come back to it later. There certainly are some difficulties when signing up for classes required to declare your intended major because they are extremely popular and students who were admitted with a major can enroll right when their enrollment window is open without having to wait until the fee deadline and restrictions lift, but I do not know any undeclared student who wasn’t able to eventually get into the major they wanted to. They might have declared a major that is different from the one they wanted when applying, but this is because they changed their mind while trying other fields, and not because they were not able to take required courses.

The main reason why Undeclared is the best option for you is, obviously, because you are free to take any courses and to try anything you want. And this is so cool because you have another chance to decide what you want to be in the future. You can also try the major that you wanted when applying to college in real life and maybe change your mind about it. In this way, you are protected from the situation where you realize that you do not like your major at all when you’re in your junior or senior year and cannot really do anything about it. Undeclared is really a perfect opportunity to define your future by yourself being able to actually try things on your own instead of looking for someone’s opinion or advice.

Being an Undeclared student gives you access to your own helpful academic advisors, just as you might expect to have in other departments. These people are ready to help and advise you and work hard to meet your expectations and make sure that you are doing great! Also, if you worked hard enough to earn a 3.5 GPA in a quarter and made it to the Dean’s Honor List, you will be invited to a nice reception, where your hard work and accomplishments will be praised and appreciated.

I wish this has been enough to persuade you to think that Undeclared is a good thing. I will be really happy if you decide to join our warm and friendly Anteater family at the best campus in the world this upcoming fall. Looking forward to seeing you on the Ring Road!

Best wishes,

Nick

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Brain Map and Winter Reflection

Looking back at my last quarter, what comes to my mind first is that I am much more self-confident right now. Additionally, I can now manage my time better and also understand how important is it to have a good schedule and a plan for the day. I can simply say that I am more of a college student now than in fall, because I am not stressing out about the amount of work i have to do for classes, but actually do it. I love getting things done, therefore, I keep track of what I need to do and what I have already done in terms of assignments and time spent studying. This gives me a better understanding of my effort and makes it easier to perform analysis and improve myself for the better.

Taking all that into consideration, I feel like I have changed mentally. Take a look at my brain map and you will notice that I have a separate space for different actions categories that fill up the whole brain. This is a proof of my good time management skill; I have both everything I love and everything I need in my life in there. I believe that everyone should have a space for all these categories in their head. It doesn’t mean, that there should be no room to something else, thought. What I am trying to say is that I think that these are crucial parts of everyone`s life and it is impossible to enjoy the life without them.

Talking about each part`s importance in particular, I would like to begin with Eating, Resting and Health as they are basic human needs. It is important to not feel hungry, stay hydrated, rested and healthy. Otherwise, this is not a life, its just existence. Entertainment, Friends and Family, Hobbies and Studies is what makes your life fun and colorful. You get a lot of emotions entertaining yourself, traveling and doing your favorite hobby. Studies show you how much is still out there that you don’t know. Personally for me, Travel is very important. I love traveling to different places, learning about new people and cultures.  It is also an opportunity to see my family and to spend some time with them. I don’t really have a favorite place to go, surprisingly. I really like travelling around the US, visiting national parks and big cities like Las Vegas, San Francisco, and many others. I like to go to Europe too. It is so diverse and has so many unique old cultures.

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Getting involved

Just like any other school UCI has a lot of events and activities. Everyone con find something for themselves that goes along with their interests and hobbies. The UCI offers a lot of activities in different fields such as education, sport, culture, entertainment. Students are encouraged to take part in activities they like to broaden their worldview and feel better at college. Finding new friends, getting new experience and self-development – this is all what on-campus involvement all about.

This quarter, just like any other has a lot of activities to offer. Probably the most important one is Career Fair. Though it is mainly designed for 4th years and some 3rd years,  I still went there just to get a taste of it and to understand how this thing works. I was expecting it have a lot of people and stands with employers and this was exactly what I saw there. It was interesting to walk around and see how seniors go around dressed up in suits, hanging their resumes to company’s representatives and having a brief interviews with them. One thing that I didn’t like about the Fair is that once representatives realized that I was a freshman they would start acting in the way so I understand that they are not interested in talking to me. I was embarrassed because, first of all, they were in my position not so long ago and haven’t really achieved something in their careers, because they are just representatives. The good thing is that I will not even approach those stands ever again, since they dint know how to treat others well.

Overall, I believe that the experience I acquired is valuable and relevant since I am not far away from looking for job in my final year at UCI. I  would encourage every freshmen and sophomore to go see a career fair at some point during this year so they know what to expect and how to act on one of the most important days in their lives.