Author: nzchou

“If you want to change things in a big way, then you gotta make some big changes.” (Rocky Balboa)

Resolutions mean a lot to me. I see it always in the new year to drop the bad and pick up the good habits, to hold myself in a new standard. Always wishing for living healthier, learning new skills, and other ways to live life to the fullest. Of course not all of my resolutions stick, but the one’s that do, the resolutions that I still commit to this day, are life changes I hope I’ll use forever.

Hello everyone and welcome back from winter break and a happy new year! My winter break was a great time for me to come back from Irvine and reunite with family and old friends. I got the chance to celebrate Christmas and the New Year for another year. Coming back to Irvine, with a start of another quarter, I was much more prepared and ready for what was to come. Last quarter I remember spending a majority of it exploring and looking around all the possibilities that are provided around campus. Finding and learning all about clubs, study rooms, and networking with others were the main goals of my last quarter, a way that I could get a footing in pushing myself out there. Now this quarter I plan to set myself to stay on top of class work and develop on what I’ve already worked with. Using the study rooms I found more often, getting more involved in the clubs/organizations I’ve joined, and meeting up with all the new friends I met last quarter is all ways I’m improving my college experience bit by bit.

But just because you explored a lot last quarter, doesn’t mean that there isn’t more to explore. Everyday I always learn more and more about UCI. Take Aldrich Park for example. The park is known for being quite literally the center of the school, one of the calmest places on this busy campus, an eye of a hurricane. It’s a place where people gather to relax, socialize, and just have fun. When its good weather, you will almost always see others having picnics, taking naps, and walking around the park. Since it is also the epicenter of campus, it’s usually the meeting place for Petr sticker hunters to gather before the drops happen. Sometimes you won’t even need to look for the location of the drop but rather follow the running crowd over to get a free sticker of your own.

So with a fresh mind, experience from last quarter, and a positive outlook, I hope that I can take on this winter quarter and succeed. Wherever you are, I hope that you are able to do your best too.

Lets do our best,

Nicholas Chou

“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

“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

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift…
that’s why they call it present” – Master Oogway (Kung Fu Panda)

When my mother left on her very first business trip when I was a toddler, I remember crying my eyes out. Tears streaming down my face as she grabbed her suitcases, started her car, and backed out of the driveway. Now, I’m very used to it, my mom’s business trip being just a normal procedure in our family. A hug goodbye and remembering to text and call whenever I can is all I need until she comes back home. Ironically, now I’m the one leaving home. We had a goodbye sendoff and there were many tears as I headed off to Irvine for the first time. And just like before, it’s now just a common occurrence leaving and coming back home. Of course I feel homesick every so often, not as frequently as before, but nothing a text or a call back home wouldn’t fix.

Getting used to the new school system was hard at first, but now I’ve got it down in stride. Along with the much shorter quarter system, I now had classes that didn’t take up my entire day but was each densely packed with so much to learn. With so much more free time and the millions of clubs and programs offered here, I chose to join 3 things, the UC Irvine Dragon Boat Club, the Anteater Band, and the Undeclared/Undecided Mentorship Program. I made it in for the Anteater Band and UUMP; playing saxophone, the same instrument I played in junior and high school, and meeting my wonderful mentor, a person I can share my insight with and follow down a path they’ve walked through. Although I didn’t make it into the Dragon Boat team, I go to the gym and play basketball. With so much free time and so many different programs to try out. I found out time management is super important. I use google calendar, keeping the important things and events to do per day ie. class times, school events, meeting up with friends or professors during their office hours. You can definitely have fun, just as long as you can organize the time to relax with the time to get to work.

Speaking of having fun, there’s so many things to do in your free time! I’ve said in an earlier post that I’ve picked up longboarding and I now use it to get across the campus. Over a month using it, but I’ve gotten good enough I think I could even teach people how to longboard myself. Speaking of around school, be sure to hit the fairs when you get the chance. Every so often, UCI will have fairs and events as a way to get all the more involved in school as well as getting the chance to meet new people. Don’t be shy, everyone is always super friendly and on the same boat as you, so don’t be afraid to always meeting new people.

That’s all I have to catch you up with for today’s blog, but I have much more to share with you in the future!

Till next time,

Nick