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What I’ve Been Up To :)

I hope everyone has been good so far this quarter, I know the weather has been a bit erratic, but I hope some of you could get some time in the sun. Here is a picture of my roommates and I at Corona Del Mar last Thursday.

As I have been trying to figure out what I am looking to study next I have been looking to get involved in more academic clubs. I went to the Undergraduate Business Association meeting with a Venture Capital Analyst guest speaker this past week. I have been going to these meetings for the first few weeks of this quarter and have found them very interesting, nudging me towards studying something Business or Economics.

As I have touched on in previous posts, I make sure to prioritize my health now that I am in college. I make sure to get a bit of exercise each day whether it be playing soccer at the ARC, working out in the Mesa gym, or going for a run and catching a nice sunset like this one.

Last weekend, my dad came down from the Bay Area for a work meeting here and we were able to go up to Santa Monica and Venice Beach for the day. It is always nice to see someone from home to remind you that you are never alone. As you may see in the photo, there it was pretty cloudy, and moments I after I took this, my dad and I got soaked.

The quarter seems to be flying by, and I can’t believe it is already week 4. Even though these past few weeks have been nice and relaxing overall back on campus, that had to end at some point. I, unfortunately, have my first midterm tomorrow for my math class, wish me luck!

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Back to Reality.

I know I can’t be the only one. Did the break fly by fast? Whenever I go home, I feel very relaxed. In my eyes, everything is moving a hundred miles an hour at school: I am always doing so much, but there is always more that can be done. The first few days of break did feel very calm, but as more of my friends started to come back home, it was almost like I was a senior in high school again just enjoying another break from school. As I spent the majority of my time during break catching up with friends and family, it was already the new year, meaning classes would start again in a few short days. 

With my mind off school for a few weeks, I knew it was time to refocus and develop a plan for the upcoming quarter. Reflecting on the fall, I realized that I had similar habits to what I had in high school. This consisted of being slightly distracted during class and doing catch-up work on my own time, which often led to staying up late and having low energy the following day. While pushing through with these methods worked most of the time, I knew it was not sustainable and was bailed out with long weekends and Thanksgiving break. I started to think about the courses that I have for this winter quarter and I now know that those old habits must go. 

Although it has only been two weeks, I can already tell that I have far more homework on concepts that are much more difficult to grasp than in the fall. So far, since my classes are later each day a few times I week, I try to get up early and review the material that will be covered in the lecture, especially for math. Now that my classes are more directed to a major I am interested in (Economics), I do feel a bit more pressure to do well in these classes. Not only to declare a major but also because the classes this quarter are so foundational for the entirety of the subject. 

Anyways, I hope everyone had a relaxing break and is excited to be back on campus. I wish everyone the best of luck for the rest of this quarter, and a happy new year!

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Home Stretch

Dear Freshman Me,

Congratulations, you are about to step into the college days that you have seen on television growing up. It is now time to leave the place you call home and start getting settled somewhere else. This is going to be a difficult change, but that is part of the process. As you are venturing through your first year as an adult, you need to start this chapter in a new environment. I think Southern California is one of the best places to start this chapter of your life. I think movies and television shows play college out to be a bit overdramatic, with lots of partying, tons of classes, and loud noise all day long on campus. What I have realized so far at school is that all of these do exist, but certainly not for everyone and everywhere. In my first quarter, I had a lot of free time. It is up to me whether to be productive or not, but I do find myself making small decisions that hopefully help me in the future. College is a very self-driven environment because there are so many small temptations that are faced each day that can break the momentum you create for yourself. The first few weeks of college go by fast because you and everyone else are trying to make friends, classes aren’t too difficult yet, and it kind of feels like a vacation (especially when you’re this close to Newport Beach). However, around a month in, classes have ramped up, everyone is more busy with extracurricular activities, and you may start to feel a little homesick. I certainly did. My advice to counter this feeling of homesickness is to build a routine that you can stick to. Every Sunday I would have a list of tasks each day of the week and would check them off accordingly. This list included attending classes, homework assignments, reading, working out, calling home, and other small parts of my day. Each time I would complete one of these tasks, I would feel more accomplished and it would help me stay motivated throughout the rest of the day and week. Overall, staying busy enough where you feel you are moving in the right direction is a major positive, and this feeling is what has helped me overcome my homesickness. While I still make sure to call my parents daily and some of my friends back home once in a while. 

-Rohan

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Home Stretch

Hey everyone! I hope you are doing well. The last couple of weeks have been quite hectic wrapping up midterms, and just like that, getting ready for finals. The beauty of the quarter system. 

School has been moving so fast that I haven’t had much time to think about my upcoming plans. Like classes I am going to take in upcoming quarters or what I want to do over summer break and all. One thing that I am thinking about for next summer is studying abroad. 

And it looks like I wasn’t the only one thinking about it considering it was a 15-minute wait just to get into the ballroom. 

I used to travel a lot when I was younger, but by the time my brother and I were both in high school and juggling many different activities, it became harder for our family to go on vacations. Throughout high school, I got very comfortable with being at home and began to fall in love with my hometown. I don’t think this is a bad thing, but it did make me worried about leaving home for college. Now that I have stepped out of my comfort zone a bit, I feel like spending an extended period in another country would be good for me, and something I can handle. 

At the fair, I was looking into a few different places, but hope to find a program I like in Europe. I would say Europe because it has been recommended to me by older people, and I feel there won’t be as much of a language barrier. 

Aside from looking into summer programs, this past week has been a bit relaxing for me without any big exams. Mostly I have been trying to stay on top of work so it does pile up after the break, but also trying to figure out what classes to take next quarter. This is a much-needed break, and it’s crazy to think how little time there is between the next break, the holidays are coming, and my roommates and I are getting ready.

Just a picture of our little tree in the dorm. Anyways, hopefully, everyone is managing school well and finding ways to have fun on campus, we’re almost there. Have a nice break, everyone! 

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The “Studying” Side of College

After the quarter system gave me an extended summer, the past few weeks hit me with a reality check. I felt quite lucky that most of my midterms were spaced out, however, it did not give me much time to reset fully. But that’s college I guess, everything moves so fast. Speaking of, we are just over a month away from being a twelfth of the way through our undergraduate career. 

Midterms 🙁

For the last few weeks, I have consistently found myself in the mesa study room at unreasonable hours with one of these cracked open:

I should probably stop drinking these.

I had my first midterm during the second week of October for my Biology class, I ended up doing alright on it, but I will have to make up for it in upcoming assignments and exams to get my grade as high as possible. The week after was a bit more difficult because I had a math midterm on Friday morning, and an essay for my writing class due that night as well. That was one of the most stressful weeks I had in a while because that test and that essay made up such a huge part of my grade in each class. Without a doubt the most stressful week I have had since probably my junior year of high school. I feel pretty good about both, but still not sure. 

Close Call

Since there is a chance attendance will be counted towards my grade, especially for discussions and seminars, I make sure not to miss those easy points. I did get close though. After daylight savings, I woke up a bit too early for my nine AM class around seven, and had some trouble going back to sleep because it was so bright that morning. I felt very low energy throughout the day because I was up early technically but did not start moving until quite a bit later. I figured to make sure I got a proper night’s rest I should close my blinds so I am not blinded by the bright sun so early in the morning. Big mistake. I slept through my first five alarms (yes, I have 6) and was scrambling in the morning to get to my first class. Lesson learned: only close the blinds on weekends. 

My “trustworthy” alarm lineup.

Relaxation

I know this quarter so far may have been stressful, it certainly has been for me. The most important thing when feeling stressed is having an outlet. For me, it’s been calling home often, exercising, going off campus with friends, and Christmas music. Yes, Christmas music, just reminds me of a relaxing time that will come around eventually. This is something I have always listened to no matter the time of year, and I highly recommend 🙂

Some of the songs I like to listen to.

A view from the trail I go for a run on every Saturday morning.

Got to watch the soccer team beat CSU Fullerton for the Big West Playoffs.

Keep pushing!

-Rohan