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A letter to me from 10 weeks ago

Dear me in the past,

Savor your time because these ten weeks will fly by faster than you can ever imagine. It may seem strange, but in ten weeks’ time, you will have grown so much—academically, socially, and even personally. A lot will happen, some things good, some things bad. For example, you will ace your first-ever college midterm, but only after being bedridden with covid for a week. Here are some things you should keep in mind to have a great quarter:

Studies are important. You are here to get a degree, and doing well in school is priority number one. However, there will be many opportunities to have fun and express yourself, and you should take them as they come. College is all about learning, but that includes all types of learning, not just academic. Go out and experience new things, and learn learn learn. Things may not always work out for you, but every new thing you try will act as a learning experience. 

Another thing to prioritize is rest and recovery. You might get a little bit of FOMO (fear of missing out), but just know that the priority is you. Take some time for yourself, and know that you don’t have to go to every event. When you find yourself at a crossroads of what to do, sometimes the best is to take a nap. No, seriously. Take naps. You won’t regret it. Mental health breaks (naps) are essential and will power you through these 10 weeks, helping you feel so much better throughout each day. 

On the other side of the coin, coke coffee. Ok, I’ll explain. I’m going to tell you now that Writing 60 not be fun, as time management isn’t your specialty I’m here to warn you of a few all-nighters but also introduce to you coke coffee—your soon-to-be best friend. Combining the taste (and caffeine) of coke and coffee, this capitalist abomination will save an alarming amount of deadlines from becoming overdue. With this new best friend, writing will be bad, but not terrible. 

In conclusion, good times are ahead. Your first quarter will make you grow so much, and even though it may seem hard at times, just know that it’ll all work out. Maintaining a healthy balance between school, friends, and rest is important, and I know you’ll do great. You got this! Keep your head held high and don’t forget to be an academic weapon.

Have a good ten weeks!

Ian

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1/3 of a School Year Older

Week 10 of my first quarter. Already. I cannot believe that I am already a third of my way through my first year at college. It feels like so much has happened within these past ten weeks that it is difficult to summarize it all into one post. There is one thing I can confirm though: the quarter system is fast-paced.

Being a freshman and especially entering as undeclared, I felt lost in such a large, vibrant, and diverse school environment but somewhere and somehow I found my way. The first few weeks of this quarter I was definitely attempting to adapt to this huge transition. As someone who came from northern California I only knew people from my high school and some other students from orientation, and so I really was starting this big journey independently. It was a little scary feeling alone at first, but eventually I settled into this uneasiness and sought out discomfort.

Suddenly after five weeks of putting myself out there, getting involved, and meeting new people I began to feel a sense of community in my school. Getting to know other students here at UCI, especially upperclassmen, provided me insight into the culture and workings of this university. Spending time with other freshmen and living in such a supportive hall, I felt like I had access to a space in which I could find connection, relatability and belonging. 

Academically, I was lucky that I began my college career with classes that were truly fascinating to me. I am the type to want to be creative in my work and I feel that the courses that I took this quarter really allowed for the opportunity for some creative expression.  The drama courses I took, specifically, really confirmed my passion for this art, as there was never a moment when I felt that I wasn’t creatively engaged. This perhaps might be a sign that a new door to a potential major has opened.

So a little message to me at the beginning of the quarter: college is busy. The weeks will fly by quickly and you will meet countless amounts of people. You came here to learn, and you will, as there are so many opportunities for engagement. No matter what nervous thoughts you may have though, you got this. 

If there is something about this quarter that I’d want to emphasize it would be the idea of community. It is easy to get caught up in the pressure and competition of higher education but what I learned from just talking to other students is that everyone is going through their own struggles no matter how well a person might seem to be doing. All students have specific strengths and weaknesses and so to any student out there: do not compare yourself to others and instead, feel accomplished with what you have done. To all the current freshmen completing their first quarter: congratulations, we jumped into something that was new for all of us and have made it this far. Here is to more quarters to come.      

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Flash to the Past

Dear Week 0 Self,

You have no idea what you have in store in the upcoming 10 weeks. Everything you thought of when thinking about college? Yeah, you might want to forget all about that. 

It’s going to feel like a lot of weight on your shoulders, balancing between the world of academia and the real world. Just remember, nothing is perfect, you are going to make mistakes, you are going to make tough choices, but you will be okay. It will not always be easy, waking up early will be hard for you, but you should be proud of yourself for pushing through it anyways. 

It’s a learning process, feel things out, try out different methods of studying until you find something that is the most effective. Keep your eyes on the prize, and don’t get so much into your head about things. Look up when you’re feeling down, try to remember that someone went through the same things you are going to go through in the upcoming weeks, and if they got through it, so can you!

You are going to learn so much about yourself, about how you need to plan everything out more, and that night classes aren’t exactly for you! You are going to have a love/hate relationship with your classes. Learn from the trials and errors you come across. Apply it to the next circumstance that arises.

Don’t feel too bad if it doesn’t go as planned, hardly ever does that happen. I know that you are going to have some unexpected troubles, and academics – as shocking as it may sound – will sometimes not be the main priority. The important thing is that you will not give up! You will learn to use your struggles to fuel your passion to persevere. 

Take some time to really ground yourself when you feel like everything is slipping from your grasp. Reach out and talk to people if you need help, use those resources on campus that are free.

Grab some food with a friend, eat some ice cream, go out and have some fun! Celebrate all the small victories because that will keep you sane. I hope you learn to enjoy your time at college, and make new friends or rekindle old friendships. Find some clubs to join, or activities to participate in. If for whatever reason you don’t have the time, not to worry, there’s always next quarter! 

Again, keep your head up! I’m rooting for you, even when it feels like no one else is. Take Winter Break to regroup, and when Winter Quarter rolls around, make sure to apply all those lessons you wished you’d known before starting college!

Try not to compare yourself to others! It will be hard, but troubles present themselves in different ways to each person. 

For now, that’s all I can say, what the future holds is unknown, dark, and mysterious at times, but don’t let that stop you from pursuing your goals and striving for success!

Much love, 

Celeste

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Dear Welcome Week Azalea

Dear Welcome-Week Azalea,

I hope that you enjoyed your Wednesday night out on the Aldrich Park lawn, watching Toy Story 4 with hundreds of other students. That was a good movie.

I hope you enjoyed your Tuesday afternoon having random drinks being thrown at you from directions unknown to you while you were sandwiched between hundreds of sweaty bodies as you were jumping and cheering to the loud bass thumping from the stage during the Aldrich Park After Dark concert.

I hope you enjoyed walking up and down Aldrich Park, signing up for all those clubs during the Anteater Involvement Fair because “clubs are a great way to meet new people who share similar interests”. They’re also a great way to gain leadership skills and network with other people, and you may even make memories.

I hope you enjoyed spending your free hour playing in the Esports Arena during their kickoff event, because opportunities like that are rare. It must’ve been fun having so many people packed into the room that day, crowded around the TVs playing Super Smash Brothers while you were busting your butt on the computer to beat the bots during your practice match on Team Fortress 2.

I hope you enjoyed yourself while you were working up a sweat with those dance classes during Late Night at the Arc. Such a shame you passed up a good opportunity to win a free t-shirt, but then again those lines were pretty long. It must’ve been fun sweating through your clothes while you were trying so hard to belly-dance, but at least you had fun.

I hope you had fun participating in all those activities during Welcome Week, because after Week One hits and instruction begins, the fun runs out and the routine kicks in. Deadlines start to come in thick and fast, professors start to assign more work, and motivation starts to drop. Long lines form at The Hill as people rush to buy and rent their textbooks. LARC enrollment windows start to open up, and before you know it, your first midterm slaps you in the face.

By the end of your fall quarter, you will find yourself sitting in a study lounge or library, staring at your computer screen, typing away at an assignment that you know will be due very soon. Papers will be strewn all over your desk as you do your best to cram and study for your upcoming finals. You know that these grades matter because it determines whether or not you will need to repeat the course and waste even more precious FAFSA money.

You will be cursing yourself internally as you cannot access WebReg yet again due to clogged and overfilled servers full of students who are trying as hard to register for classes as you are.

However, you will be spending so much time with your friends, hall mates, club mates, classmates, and teammates. You will remember the conversations that you had, the dumb stuff that you used to do, the events that you used to hold, the study sessions that you went to, and the struggles that you got through together. College is not all about academics and financial aid; you can also make so many fun memories in college that you will cherish as time goes on! Live your life while you can!