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In Which Things Could Go Wonderfully Right or Horribly Wrong

I am terrified. Even with having already completed one quarter successfully, I am still as terrified starting Winter quarter as I was my first day as a college freshman. Just as quickly as I had established and settled into a routine, it is now time to form a new one. There are certain aspects that I can always rely on to remain constant. Traffic already starting to build up around 6:20 in the morning. Sprinting to my next back to back class on the opposite side of campus. Being sleep deprived. And then the features I again need to familiarize myself with are the new faces in lectures and discussions and different teachers with even higher expectations.

Entering Fall quarter, the persistent change was exciting. I was eager to meet new people and felt ready to take on a rigorous curriculum. Now entering Winter quarter, I have heart palpitations.

Last quarter I only took 12 units. This time, I am taking on 16. It may be only one extra class. But with the fast pace of the quarter system, time can really sneak up on you to give you a heart attack before you turn 19.

From having better time management by saying no to one more Netflix episode of Blacklist. To giving myself a pep talk to have enough courage to attend office hours and talk more to the other people in my class. And reviewing notes after lectures when I get home instead of making a trade-off between sleep and cramming the night before midterms. With a heavier workload, there are definitely some things I need to improve upon as I move forward in the Winter. But one habit I would like to keep the same that I did last quarter: trying to focus more on the excitement rather than the fear that comes with change.

 

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Round Two

With the first quarter done and over with, I am able to start the winter quarter fresh and new. There are things that I have learned about the college setting that makes creating my second quarter a whole lot easier. The first of which being class scheduling.

Since I am not a morning person, having classes before noon was a struggle. That’s why I tailored most of my classes to occur at around 12 PM. It was something that worked well for me the first quarter, and I decided to keep it for the second one as well. I also wanted so that I didn’t have to come back to my dorm over and over again between classes, so I made it so that the longest downtime I have between classes would be 50 minutes. This gives me an ideal schedule to work with.

The one major thing that didn’t work for me last quarter was the fact that I only had a few important classes. I wasn’t able to enroll in the amount of units that I really wanted. I have changed that this quarter by getting more 4 unit courses, thus getting enough credits for me to get sophomore status for the next year. That puts me on track for graduation, but getting into ICS is difficult so graduating with the right degree is hard.

Overall, the first weeks of the second quarter is a lot better than the first few weeks of the first quarter. I have gotten used to my roommates and hall members, and thus the aura of mystery and careful treading is gone. We are more open to each other, resulting in a chill atmosphere. My sleeping schedule is still the same though. It works out for me, since my classes are around the same time, but on the other hand, it works against me since my roommates have earlier classes. Still, I enjoy their company and the extra hours of interrupted sleep is a cheap price to pay.

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What to Know

Hello,

There should be a few things that you should know when you first started college. I found these things out the hard way and now I am here to impart the knowledge too you. Lets start with lifestyle decisions. If you or a roommate are able to get a mini fridge, do so. Being able to chill your foods and beverages is great, especially if you plan to either stay for the holidays or only have 100 meal swipes. The campus eateries close for the holidays so you cannot use their services during those times. Being able to store food also means that if you are hungry at some odd time in the morning, you have access to a decent snack. Just having a fridge means you are able to have chilled water, and those who like their water to taste like nothing, chilled water works the best.

Another thing that is important to note is the mail room services. If you live in Mesa Court, there are rooms next to the mail room that allow students to study in peace, if your roommates are loud and disruptive. They are always open and all you need is your ID card to enter the building. There are outlets to charge your laptop as well, allowing you to work for a really long time. For the mail room it self, know that you should never send anything there a week before or after a break or event. The mail room gets an absurd amount of packages during these times and takes a long time for packages to process. People want usually buy things from Amazon to gift to other people during these times and so there would be a large influx of mail. If possible, try to mail your packages to Amazon lockers that are located around campus. There is one directly next to the Mesa Court mail room and one further down near the Mesa Court community center. If those are both full, there is a locker at University Town Center, which is ran by Amazon itself, although there are business hours linked to them.

Lastly, regarding extra purchases you might need throughout the year. At University Town Center, there is a Target which seems great since they usually carry items that are necessary for daily use and that is true regarding soaps and towels. For any electronics or accessories, the best place to get them is Amazon. They are cheaper there, but it takes time for them to arrive. You might think paying extra is worth the convenience but the markups at Target are way to high to justify the purchase. If you are buying snacks, Target works fine, but if you are looking for some real food, Albertsons is worth the value for the longer walk it takes to get there.

Sincerely,

Tommy

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To The One Who Is Still Clueless 10 Weeks Later

Dear Adrianne from 10 weeks ago,

Save yourself $20 by not buying those swim goggles. You never do end up going to the gym regularly as you planned to during the summer.

Remember to check your spare tire. In nine weeks when you are on your way to pick up your sister, your right rear tire blows up out of nowhere on the freeway. You’ll be fine. When you’re pulling of to the shoulder, a freeway service patrol notices your trail of smoke, and you get your tire changed for free.  However the next day, on your way to Walmart, you find a screw has punctured the spare that you were using…

I know you took numerous AP classes during high school. Good job for passing every single one. But don’t get too overconfident. Trust me, you are going to be happy that you stuck with only 12 units in your first quarter. It is a rough transition from the semester to the quarter system. And on the steep learning curve, you don’t just slip; you slide. Even though you have more free time to do homework, you still manage to avoid it until the last minute. Also, for the sake of your sleep schedule, please get the senioritis out of your system during the summer.

Eventually, after a few pitfalls, you manage to get your bearings. You even feel confident enough in your study skills to sign up for 16 units next quarter.

There’s going to be more than quite a few pitfalls. You do not get all A’s on your exams for the first time. You find it hard to make friends when you are not able to stick around on campus for long and are so terribly, painfully shy. You are going to get rejected by that boy that you talk to all the time in your Monday discussion that you think is cute for some reason.

Every experience as a first year is a novel one that brings you to a faint extent out of your comfort zone. Just hang in there. Stand tall. Keep your head held high. Scores of Cs on midterms are not the end of the world. Next time, focus on comprehension, not memorization of the material. Do not wait until the day before to start cramming. And it also helps if you manage to get at least 7 hours of sleep. There is no use of putting all this information in your brain if you fall asleep during exams when you are measured on how much you can pull all of it out. You are still socially awkward even to this day. Yet, there are hundreds of other students in your classes that are just as new to this campus as you. It never hurts to say hello or sit down next to someone you have never seen before. Don’t be discouraged when you spend an entire lecture chatting with someone and can not manage to find them again. Just repeat the same process of striking up a conversation with someone new. In due course, you will find friends that stick. And on a final side note, though you get rejected, you are going to be proud of yourself for even summoning the courage to confess your feelings in the first place.  Rejection is surprisingly not that devastating, and you move on fairly quickly.

Good luck with your remaining two quarters! Without a doubt,  I am certain you will make them better than your first one.

With love,

Adrianne

P.S. Also, the boy that you constantly stare at in your Friday discussion eventually catches on that you are not only looking at the clock.

 

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Short Letter to Thyself From the Future

Normally I would start my intro by saying “What’s Up!” or “How are you doing?!”, but I am way too tired to say anything. So if you are reading this, let me tell you about the content before you start reading this letter. This letter is written at the end of my first fall quarter, and to be read by me before the fall quarter. So, as a future college student speaking, I have composed a list of things it would be best if you knew before coming to college:

Academics:
In any course, ALWAYS go ask the professor to review your mistakes on your midterms. Please do this if you don’t want your grades to suffer for your mistake. The professors are really nice and kind, and they will help you. It does seem intimidating, but don’t worry. Just be yourself and ask questions.

Whenever taking notes, I (from the future) saw that you do better in classes when you handwrite your notes. So in every class applicable, take written notes, and pay attention in class too, even if the lecture is posted online.

Every day, please try to review your notes you went over in class when you go back home. You will be demotivated to do so as the major things that determine your grade is midterm and finals, but please do review note when applicable.

In terms of picking classes:
If you are in the major you want or love: well then don’t worry about anything else
If you are not in the major you want or love and are planning to change your current major: picking courses will be a little rough and frustrating, especially when you are the first year, which means a low priority (usually those with a higher credits get higher priorty, but not always the case. AP credits do count towards determining your standing.

Social Life:
Over the course of weeks, you will start living more in your room, only going outside for classes, food, and some extracurricular activities. Because of that, your interaction with people will slow down, so try to go outside and go and talk to people.

Throughout the ten weeks, you will make some really good friends, so make sure you keep in touch because maintaining a friendship will take more effort than you realize.

When you apply for things in the involvement fair, don’t just focus on professional/career development programs. It’s good but balance it with something you enjoy. A good example: join the cricket club, or the Zot Blog program. (Hint: DO APPLY! TRUST ME, YOU WILL BE GLAD TO DO IT!)

Personal Development:
I value in personal development a lot, and a college is a great place for personal development. However, there were challenges.
You will notice you will end up getting rejected a lot, and it hurts, but move on and learn where you went wrong. Don’t be afraid to ask people, where you went wrong

Love life:
Currently, the file doesn’t exist.

Overall: it will be a great year, and there are a lot of challenges, but there is two major advice I want you to keep in your head: have a good time management and don’t lose yourself and your ideas/goals. Because everything is fast-paced, you lose yourself into other things, so be careful. That and enjoy, because time flies FAST and you won’t get this opportunity again.