Year in Review 2022-23

As a first-year college student, the past year has been a time of tremendous personal growth for me. From achieving a work-life balance to exploring my interests and forging new relationships, this year has been all about growth for me.

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One of my main goals heading into the year was to find a major path that fits me. I came into UC as a Public Relations major but quickly switched that prior to starting in the fall semester. I went exploratory but had a business focus. I wasn't fully happy with the path I was going down and felt that maybe there was a better major out there for me. I explored many DAAP majors. However, after doing my due diligence I once again found myself lost. I felt that everything was too specialized, and I see myself as more of a generalist. I circled back to Lindner College of Business and reviewed their majors once more. That's how I found Economics. I greatly enjoyed ECON-1001, Microeconomics, in the Fall semester and thought a lot of these principles could be applicable across the board. Plus, best of all, there were 36 free credit hours to explore other interests and pick up some minors. This is what I valued the most. While I may not be the typical Economics major, I hope to use what I learn in this in any field I go into. 

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Balance and living a life that's sustainable in the long term is extremely important to me. This year I found the power of saying "No". I believe in March one of my friends said to me "You can do everything, but not at once". That is a perfect summary of the growth I was able to achieve this year. There will always be more to do, not just in the classroom but outside of it as well. There will always be another club to join, another party to go to, etc. I think in previous years I felt that I had to be everywhere all at once, and that's a really draining feeling. It creates anxiety and other feelings that are hard to shake. This year, I chose to focus my time on energy on things that mattered to me. I said "no" to not going to every club invite I got. I said "no" to studying sometimes because I needed a break. It's powerful and has impacted my life in a positive way. 

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I love people. I love learning about people. I love hearing their stories. This is what most excited me about coming to college. 40 thousand people that I don't know right in front of me. I'm so glad I've been able to make friends with people who have such a wide range of perspectives, backgrounds, and identities. I try to surround myself with people who inspire me to be a better person. I meet up with one group of friends every month and we check in on each other to see how everyone's progress on their goals has been. It's great to be in such a supportive environment. 

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In the last year, I've grown the most I ever have. I hope to continue on this trajectory throughout college.