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Blogger Introduction and UCI First Impressions

What’s up everyone?! My name is Ron and I’m excited to be a new ZotBlogger for the 2019-2020 school year! I can’t wait to be able to share my experiences this year, and for you all to come along this journey as it happens. So without further ado let’s get this started!

As a ZotBlogger I am writing my experiences as a first-year undeclared student here at UCI. If there is one thing to know about me, it is that I am very inquisitive and enjoy interdisciplinary learning, so the majors I am considering pursuing range from drama to informatics. It will be a process trying to find the best major for me this year but nevertheless an enriching one for sure.

Before coming into this position, I was living my best life in the East Bay Area, a region that I am proud to call my home. Moving here to Southern California, though, has been a fun change in my environment and being able to live in such a great city such as Irvine has only made my experience even better. Moreover, actually moving away from my family and starting what I call, “adulting”, or a true, independent lifestyle, has been a positive learning experience for me. 

When it came to networking in a new campus I was fortunate enough that before classes began I was already accepted as an intern for the ASUCI (Associated Students – University of California, Irvine) Art Lab commission where I am happy to say I have met many people of similar interests and personalities (me being a huge performing arts person). There were also already many fun activities planned for week 0 (quick shoutout to ASUCI for a huge success during Welcome Week) which allowed me to meet all sorts of people in the student body. 

After all the fun of week 0, classes began and suddenly I had to juggle my schoolwork along with my social life and “adulting”. It surprised me how busy my days were getting as despite one or two hour-long classes a day, I was still responsible for amounts of homework that I admittedly was not anticipating. I’ve learned that organization will be key to surviving this quarter as with many club meetings and assignment due dates to keep track of, it is important to stay on top of everything (Google Calendar is basically my best friend for keeping my life together). College is definitely different from high school as accountability for your own schedule and time management is even more important and this has taken some getting used to lately. 

Nevertheless, I am enjoying this adjustment into a new school environment. There are many resources that satisfy my love for learning and getting to know people. UCI has some of the best students and faculty so classes and clubs have been nothing but enjoyable. Such a great start only makes me look forward to what is in store for the rest of this school year. With that said, zot zot zot for the start of fall quarter!

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Still Hanging In There

I never understood the stress and mental breakdowns that my friends (who were attending colleges that ran by the semester system) were experiencing– that is, until an entire month later. Except our situation is way worse.

Hello all, my name is Azalea Lilliana Walker, one of the U/U ZotBlog writers for the 2019-2020 school year! This will be my second blog that I will be working on, aside from my ePortfolio for my Writing 37 class. I personally love reflective writing– it’s one of my favorite hobbies. It helps me to relieve stress and just share my stories with other people, and being a ZotBlog editor can even help me put my Writing 37 skills to work.

I attended Dr. Maya Angelou Community High School in South Los Angeles, a.k.a “South Central”. You know, the area south of Downtown LA, past the Fashion District, with its abundance in corner stores and liquor shops, elote carts with the chicharron bags hanging from the top of them, and graffiti tagging the sidewalks and murals here and there. Yes, it’s a low-income area, yes, me and my friends (both male and female) do feel unsafe walking around the neighborhood sometimes, and yes, it’s very dirty and it sometimes stinks– the sanitation department does all they can to keep it clean, but people just keep shamelessly throwing trash in the street.

Regarding my experience at UCI, welcome week here was really fun. I loved the Toy Story 4 screening, because I know that my boyfriend and his family got a chance to go and see it during the summer when it came out, but I didn’t get the chance to see it until now– and I’m very glad I did. Aldrich Park After Dark, however, was crazy… I remember leaving early (around 7:30 P.M.) because I got bored, then about an hour and a half afterwards, I’m receiving texts from our house’s GroupMe chat about all the crazy stuff going on– people getting hurt, people fainting, etc.

Fast forward to now, and I’m almost at the end of week 2, with a midterm coming up next week. I’m way behind on textbook readings and understand nothing about half of the content that is being covered in Biology 93. I’m also struggling with some emotional baggage and learning to let go of the past. So far, I have been joining clubs to make friends, and I’m on the Level V Origins dance team, but I’m wondering whether or not I am in too much extracurricular activities. However, one thing that I am grateful for is the fact that I have people at the Black Scholars House in Arroyo Vista that I can reach out to when I need it most. Having a strong support network is crucial for my mental wellness. Personally, I know it’s scary to make new friends at UCI, but there are people out there that care.

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New Beginnings

Hello to all the ZotBlog readers! My name is Celeste Mejia and I am a first year undergrad here at UCI! Currently I am undeclared, meaning I do not yet have a declared major, hence the term undeclared, but I am definitely leaning towards being a Biological Sciences major. Like others my age, I enjoy bingeing Netflix shows – new or old – and love watching all kinds of videos on YouTube ranging from skincare videos on Harper’s Bazaar and Allure to fashion videos on runway shows, and of course, how could I forget about watching Trevor Noah on The Daily Show. This assortment of entertainment keeps me sane while all the commotion of the first week of school gets everyone rowdy for meetings, classes, and other festivities going around day and night on campus. 

It is important to note that I am a commuter, so I live off campus and have to make a little drive or take the bus to make it to UCI. Also important to note, this is NOT a horrible thing. I say this because I have lost track of the amount of times other first years say “dang that sucks,” with a look of pity on their face. It just so happens that I get to experience college a little differently. But hey, I have a room all to myself, sooo … who’s really winning in this scenario? That can be left up for debate. 

All jokes aside, I do find that commuting has come with its perks. I have access to go anywhere I want, and the benefit of growing up in Orange County is that I am familiar with all the best places to go to. I have also been able to explore campus outside of class time, and know where almost all buildings, little snack shops, water-refilling stations, lounge places, outlets, and most importantly, where the restrooms are! Might sound weird, I know, but as a commuter, I have to know where all the readily available resources are. 

Classes have been pretty manageable, I really like my professors, and I have met some nice people along the way. Definitely something I hope to improve on is my socialization. It always seems like there’s not enough time in the day to meet up with people when I have readings, quizzes, and practice problems to do. Overall, these past two weeks have been an adjustment: I have already begun to change my study habits and I am still working on trying to find a more efficient method on how to organize my to-do’s of the day. 

This fall quarter I am taking it easy, testing the waters, and so I am holding off on joining clubs, I think I already know what I would like to join, but that is to be saved for a later date. Right now, all I can think about is the fact that my first ever midterm – yes, you read that correctly, MIDTERM – is next Friday. May the biology gods be in my favor. 

Till next time,

Celeste

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Introduction/ Week 1-2

What’s up doc? My name is Adrianne. I’m pretty socially awkward and tend to be scatterbrained at times. Apologies for both in advance.

Hailing from Placentia, as a commuter I had quite a few initial concerns about UCI. Being such a shy person and not living on campus, I was not sure if I would be able to establish a core group of friends. As a relatively new driver that only began to drive on the freeway for four months, I was not sure if my prayers of making it to campus in one piece would be answered. Having a bad habit of massive procrastination, I was not sure if I would be able to keep up with UCI’s quarter system.

Overall, my first few weeks were pretty rough. I only took 12 units to wet my feet and test the waters. With only three classes, I should not be one to complain. But the amount of work and stress in the first two weeks alone made me feel like I jumped off the deep end and ended up cracking my head at the bottom of the pool.

Taking Biology 93, Chemistry, and Math combined with poor time management has put some heavy strain on my committed relationship with my bed. Also, being a commuter that takes their sibling to and from school and their extracurriculars, I found my options for the clubs I could join severely limited. Unless I was feeling petty enough to let her walk home at night from her swim practices, there were few clubs whose meetings I could attend.

Though in the beginnings the waters were choppy, with a bit more time I was able to find a routine to keep myself afloat.

Luckily I have been getting to UCI and back home in one piece. The occasional impatient driver will cut me off on the freeway… But I drive so slow there is usually a small window to slam the brakes to avoid rear-ending them. The three days I am on campus are the mornings my grandma or uncle will drop off my sister to school. If I run fast enough across Aldrich Park, I can hit the freeway early enough to be able to pick her up.

Additionally, besides ZotBlog, I was very fortunate enough to find a Christian club that has members meet with others whose schedules do not permit them to attend their meetings or Bible studies on a regular basis. I see them every Wednesday around three after my Biology lecture. I am very grateful for how flexible they are and the knowledge they imparted to me that I do not drive to Newport Beach to see them but walk to the Newport Beach room in the student center.

As for improving my time management and combatting procrastination… Well, it is still a process. After the first few times a ten-minute homework break turned into an unhealthy amount of Supergirl, Arrow, and the Flash being binged on Netflix, I leave my phone in a corner while I study. I promised myself that one day I will find the strength to delete Netflix and Instagram off my phone. But I can always do it tomorrow. Today I have time to watch one more episode or stare at a picture of Jared Goff or Noah Centineo on Instagram for another couple of minutes.

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Introduction + Week 1-2

My name is Viraj Gandhi, and I am currently undeclared (obviously since I was able to join U/U Zot Blog), but I am planning to change my major to Business Information Management, or BIM for short. I was born in India but I moved to America ten years ago. Some of my hobbies included  EDMs, TV shows, (The Office is a great one), and movies. With that, I was excited to start college.

I stood in my dorm room, imagining what people call “college life”.  I had hopes and dreams about what I want to achieve, what skills I need to build. However, I also kept an open mind, looking for opportunities to grow myself in any way I can. This was me in week zero, lots of time, nothing much to do. Week one and two flew really fast.

Academically everything was going fine, or so I thought. The first couple of lectures of my classes left me confused. I asked questions, but it left me even more confused. Not a great start to classes, but I decided to give myself some time. The transition from high school to college academically is difficult but I wasn’t discouraged. Instead, I gave myself time to adjust because I know everything will work out. Aside from class, homework is interesting too. Normally I get homework every day, but there are classes where there is no homework, or it’s once a week. Because of this change, I found myself with more time to do more.

Throughout my two weeks, I was able to find a good group of friends,, but I have to say my roommate is a great person. One of the great quality is his friendly personality. For example, during weekends, both my roomie and I stay up around 3 am watching our own movies. Or if we need to go out at 3 am to enjoy fresh air at Crescent bay park, or get a snack at In-n-Out at 12 am, he is ready. Of course, we don’t go out late at night every weekend, but the rare moments that make you appreciate your friendship. Of there were lows with my social life. For example, I applied to a business fraternity and attended every rush event, asked a lot of questions, talked to the brothers, but I woke up finding a letter of rejection. What got me upset was not the rejection, because I got a lot of it during high school, but it was knowing I worked really hard. I put my heart into it, skipped going to other interest clubs’ (not lectures) events but I wasn’t successful. But because of the rejection, I was able to see my flaws. Looking back at this event, I realized that college, and even life, will not give you everything you want, but it will give you things worth remembering, whether good or bad.

I realized I wrote a lot of deep things for my introduction, but I am a reflective person. Every little thing that happens to me, I reflect on it, because I am constantly seeking to improve myself and create a college experience I don’t want to forget.