There is only a week left until the end of my first year of university. Looking back on the bits and pieces of my life this year, I can say I had an enriched life here about this year at UCI. I still remember when I walked into the U/U office for the first time, I didn’t know anything about my future college life, and I was very confused about my choice of major. However, through my continuous efforts over the past year and the help of the staff in the U/U office, I have finally found my goal, and have the direction and motivation to move forward.
As an international student, I think U/U Zotblog gave me the most help when I first came to the United States and was unfamiliar with everything, it gave me reliable and warm support. Every member of the U/U office family is very friendly and helpful, and they helped me adapt to the living habits and learning rhythm here faster. I have also mentioned in my previous blog that without the help of this program, it is hard to imagine whether I would be able to carry out these subsequent activities and projects so smoothly. We often say, “Starting is half the battle.”, and I’m glad Zotblog helped me start my college journey and have such a wonderful life. When submitting the blogger application, it was very difficult for me to imagine that I could benefit from this program or so many resources and opportunities and allow myself to be improved in all aspects. I would like to thank Zotblog founder Lauren here. Lauren is the first UCI staff member I have met since I came to campus. Her enthusiasm motivates me to try and challenge more possibilities, and she is very attentive to help me solve problems when I need them. Another person I would like to thank is my advisor Dedra, who played a vital role in my choice of major and related extracurricular activities. Hope we can meet and chat more often in the future!
In this year of study and life, I think my biggest improvement is time management and planning. This was the worst problem I faced in high school. The procrastination in my studies prevented me from focusing on the learning content and put off all tasks until the last minute. As a result, I tried to make myself a weekly study plan, fill out all the timetables or schedule sheets, and try to follow up on those plans. However, I still found that I was not willing to complete the task or follow those shifts according to the plan, which made me under a lot of pressure and exacerbated my procrastination. In the process of finding a study method and schedule that worked for me, I realized that I was not the right person to stick to a schedule, and that’s when I realized the importance of being proactive. I realize that when I am doing what I love, I do not care how much time I spend on it and will complete them as soon as possible. For example, when studying professional courses or participating in some activities, I can always concentrate my attention and complete the tasks in front of me efficiently without thinking about procrastinating. It also allowed me to find a field of expertise that I wanted to study, and that I was willing to put my time and effort into. Passion gives me initiative and keeps me from worrying about procrastination. Not only did I stop worrying about the arrival of the deadline, but I could free up more time to do more things. Compared to me who used to use anime and games to evade tasks, I now seem to be more at ease in terms of time. Therefore, I hope that everyone can find what they love and the direction they are willing to work for and spend a fulfilling and interesting university life at UCI.
My Zotblog life is coming to an end, and I would like to thank you all for your company and support over the past year. Looking forward to the arrival of new bloggers in the next school year to breathe new life into U/U Office! Zot! Zot! Zot!
