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In Conclusion

As my chapter as a Freshman comes to a close its important to look back and reflect upon what had happened during the year. I came into UCI as an Undergraduate/Undeclared major and was hoping to start the path to a Computer Science major. That goal has been achieved since I took the highly sought after ICS 31 during the Winter Quarter. I also wanted to make some new friends during my time here and I can safely say that I have made more than a few friends during my three quarters here.  Lastly I wanted the college experience to be more fun that my high school one and I can safely say that so far it definitely has been more fun. From causing the dorm to think that there was a sewage leak by boiling cabbage, to allowing my friends to peer pressure me into events.

Looking back my proudest moment was how innovative my roommate and I were in regards to our dorm room. Being essentially a single room with two people in it we were forced to use the space to its maximum effect. It’s quite funny that whenever someone else from our dorm comes into our room they immediately notice the arrangement that my roommate and I have. The top bunk has been converted into a pantry/storage area while the bed was moved to the floor. Before any of you say I was a terrible roommate, I did ask him if he wanted the bottom bunk. Regardless, despite the cramped living conditions of the reduced double we managed to make it work.

In regards to the ZotBlog program, my favorite memory was actually meeting everyone else in the program. Brandon, Nancy and Lauren all made the experience of being a ZotBlog writer extremely enjoyable. From just stressing over finals to helping each other with classes everyone in the program was a joy to work with and I hope to work with them again in the future. If I had to choose a specific memory of my favorite part of being in ZotBlog it would have to be when Lauren mentioned that other members of the U/U office read our blog which at first made me nervous because I’m usually not one to let people read my writing but upon hearing the positive feedback from the people in the office I was more okay with the idea.

As for next year, my goals are going to mainly focus on getting into the ICS major while keeping in touch with the counselors at the U/U office. Keeping in touch with your counselor is something I would strongly recommend any incoming freshman to do. All the counselors here are all knowledgeable about which classes that you need to take in order to get to where you wanna go. ZotBlog was definitely an opportunity for freshman to not only get involved but to just relax as none of these blog posts feel like work. The posts are just about your day or days past so there isn’t any intensive thinking to do. I would definitely recommend this program to anyone interested in joining.

Since this is my last post as a writer, to those of you who are planning to become future Anteaters, I wish you the best of luck as I’m sure that you can do whatever you set out to do here at UCI. I am actually part of the Class of 2022 Facebook group so if there are any questions I would be happy to answer them. Beyond that, there isn’t much else to say but enjoy your time since you are only a Freshman once.

Zot On!
Josh

Photo Credit: Nancy

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Reflecting On Freshman Year

This year has been long, difficult, and stressful, but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Coming to UCI, I was set on achieving personal growth and academic success. Although it’s hard to really measure things like growth objectively, I can say with certainty that I have at least achieved my goals to some extent. In high school, I really wasn’t as involved as I should’ve been. I preferred to do only what I could to get by, and although I did participate in extra curriculars, I never felt like I was making the most out of my time. I wanted to make sure college was different and that I’d take advantage of all the opportunities this school provides.

My number one priority throughout the year was transferring from UU to Business Administration, and although I have yet to apply for the change of major, I am on track to apply next quarter. I was able to get all but one of my prerequisite classes out of the way this year, and I was able to maintain a 3.9 GPA while doing it. I know it’s pretty lame, but this is probably the thing I am most proud of accomplishing this year. I knew college would be a step up from high school, both in terms of workload and course difficulty, but I am happy to be able to say that I’ve handled the transition well. As I prepare to move onto sophomore year, I hope that I can continue to find academic success and seek out more and more opportunities. I owe a lot of my success though to UU administration and the counselors who were always happy to help me work out any course confusions I may have had. I especially want to thank counselor Andrea Licata and the First Year Excellence Program for always being there to help and encouraging all of us to get involved and be successful. The philanthropy project that Andrea organized ended up being an amazing experience, and I’m so glad I was able to be a part of it.

In terms of campus involvement becoming a part of ZotBlog was definitely an opportunity that I’m so glad to have taken. Although I was hesitant about extra work on top of regular classes, writing for the Blog never felt like work at all. In fact, it has been so cathartic in the sense that it gives me time to reflect on how I’ve progressed this past year. It’s so easy to get lost in the quarter’s rapid pace, but this served as  a real way to take a step back and chill just for a bit. It’s also helped me establish relationships with my UU peers and faculty, all of whom I am so thankful for. As a new student, it’s reassuring to be able to relate with the struggles as well as the successes of your peers. I couldn’t have asked for better partners than Nancy and Josh, and I’m so excited to continue forward with both of them through the coming years. Of course, I  can’t forget to give thanks to our wonderful counselor Lauren as well. She is one of the most chill and friendly counselors you’ll ever meet, and made sure we were all comfortable at the beginning meetings when everything was still unfamiliar. If any of you first year Anteaters are looking to get involved on campus, (which you should) I urge you to consider applying to be a ZotBlog writer.

As I close out this year and come to the end of my final post, I just want to say that I sincerely hope  that Zotblog has been able to provide you all with some entertainment and useful information. I also wish the best of luck to our future writers . I’m sure we’ll be in touch next year 🙂 If anybody has any questions about UU or anything at all really, don’t be afraid to hit me up on Facebook or anything else. I  should come up if you just search for Brandon Ro. I suppose with that, it’s time to say goodbye. I really wish all of you the best of luck here at Irvine.

Thanks for the picture Nancy :^)
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Looking Back

I can’t believe this is going to be my last post! It’s been such a crazy fast year filled with ups, downs, and unforgettable moments. I’ll never forget when the fire alarm went off my in hall at 1 AM because someone burned their chicken, or going ice skating at Irvine Spectrum for my friend’s birthday.

My first year at UCI is exactly what I wanted and more. I came in with goals along with fears, but looking back I am thriving here. One of my biggest fears, although it may sound trivial, was not getting along with my roommates because of all the horror stories I’ve heard. I consider myself so incredibly lucky to have Amy and Julia as my roommates because we’re all so considerate and really care about each other. Small moments like when Julia gave me a hand warmer when I went out late to bigger moments like surprising each other on our birthdays (I cried on mine) made any fear of not getting along with my roommates disappear. They’re one of my biggest blessings at UCI and I am so so thankful.

Another goal I had was to get involved because in high school, I was on board for four clubs and I just loved being busy and working with teams to work for something we’re passionate about. It was intimidating coming into UCI where there were already so many people doing just about everything imaginable. Staying involved with Summer Bridge and becoming an intern for VSA helped me expand my circles and find exactly that passion I had in high school. I was one of those annoying people selling Banh Mi and Almond Haus on Ring Road every Wednesday and I loved it. This helped me gain a lot of leadership responsibilities and roles for my second year which I am so excited about! One of them includes interning for Zot Blog, so to my future bloggers, I’ll see you next year!

Family is also super important to me so one goal was to keep in touch with them while dorming at UCI. Admittedly, I’m very blessed to be able to dorm when I live 20 miles away and can go home regularly, but it’s still very different from living at home. It’s weird to see life going on at home when I’m not there. When I go home on the weekends, my sister tells me everything I missed and it can be a little saddening knowing I missed it. I still do keep in touch with my family, but it’s not the same because we’re all so busy but this is part of life. For those going far from home, this might be a hard transition, but your families are just a call away!

Coming to college, I met some of the most amazing people, learning about things like their passions, career aspirations, and favorite memes. Meeting these people opened up my world view and helped me be happy and outgoing. One moment where I realized UCI is the best place for me was when I had a heart to heart conversation with my friend Amy in the dining hall. In the middle of the busy dining hall, we talked about topics so dear to our hearts that we cried. In that moment, I realized if I didn’t go to UCI, I probably would have never met Amy and that’s not a world I wanted to be in.

I also grew academically, going from completely undeclared, finding out I don’t like Biology, and finally choosing Business Economics and Social Policy and Public Service. Looking back, committing was scary, but UCI was the right choice for me because I am so happy and fulfilled with the people I’ve met, the things I’ve learned, and who I am becoming.

Being a part of Zot Blog was also a big part of my year. I loved working with Brandon, Josh, and Lauren to create this blog for you guys to read and really get an inside look into our lives. Honestly, my favorite part is going to meetings because I get to see all of them. It’s refreshing to take a break and update each other about what’s going on, especially when we walk together after meetings. Here’s a picture of us after our Canes hangout 🙂 

Now that’s my first years over, I’m really looking forward to next year regardless of how stressful it’s looking to be. I’ve taken on a lot of leadership positions including Internal Vice President of VSA, TRIO Scholars Peer Mentor, and Global Connect Intern on top of a job at my high school and commuting. My goal is to simply survive, giving my all to each position, while not burning out and taking care of myself. Wish me luck guys! But for you guys, don’t be afraid to be undeclared. It doesn’t mean you’re below everyone else and you definitely have the chance to explore which is great if you don’t know what you want to major in. I am a living, breathing, UU success story and I’m more than willing to answer any questions you guys may have!