Freshman Year: 2019-2020
This has been the most challenging and transformative year in my academic career. I came into my freshman year thinking that I had everything figured out. I thought that computer science was my set path, as it had been for years. All of my future plans revolved around that path, from the clubs I was going to join, the research I was going to conduct, and even the companies that I wanted to work for. But these last two semesters have opened my eyes to a world of possibilities that I didn’t even know existed, giving me more room to explore and discover which path I wanted to take.
This year taught me that while it is important to plan for your future, being able to adapt and change that plan is just as important, if not more. I have learned that a plan set in stone does not give you the room you need to grow, to be even better than what that plan calls for. Also, there will always be unforeseen events that throw off your plan. In the midst of these events, the most important thing is to assess the situation, learn from it, and adapt. In fact, this is the only thing that you can do. As a mentor once told me, you can’t just sit and hope that a problem or situation goes away. You need to find a way to use it to your advantage, to use it as a platform to improve. This is what I have been working on throughout this COVID-19 pandemic, and what I hope to continue doing into my sophomore year.