A Sophomore Year in Review

I’m a junior now with graduation just around the corner. These past two years have just flown by; they weren’t kidding when they say college goes by in a blur. Sophomore year seems so long ago…yet also just yesterday. Quarantine has given me a lot of time to reflect on the past year, the highs and lows, the tears and triumphs, and I’m going to put some of those reflections into words here.

To be honest, sophomore year was not a blast. If I were ever to be asked about what year I’d like to redo in college, I would point to my sophomore year without hesitation. Going in I had such high expectations for myself; I wrote a list of things I wanted to accomplish: get involved with a cultural club and explore my roots, start research with a professor, ace my exams, become an executive member in a club, and volunteer within the Columbus community. Unfortunately, the year didn’t go exactly to plan.

What went wrong? Well, I can’t really pinpoint the one thing that pushed me off track; it was more like a series of bad habits and unhealthy choices. But even though I may not have experienced the year I wanted to, the year I had still taught me a lot.

In recent years, I have found myself wanting to learn more about my background and cultural heritage. I took a placement test to begin Chinese courses; I attended meetings for CASA and APIDA; I even joined an Asian youth group. In the end, I never found the space in my schedule to sign up for Chinese, and COVID has made meetings difficult. But instead of taking Chinese classes, I began watching and listening to Chinese movies and music. Instead of relying on Zoom club meetings, I turned to my family and international friends to learn about how they grew up. In times of social distancing, I know I still have these resources to widen my global awareness.

For the past few summers, I have been performing research on brain stimulation at a nearby air force base. The work was difficult, but I learned about the ups and downs of the research process. Even though I didn’t manage to connect with a research mentor on campus, I have grateful to have the opportunity to continue with my research with the team at base. I will look for remote research opportunities from OSU, but if that doesn’t pan out in these uncertain times, I will continue research with my base mentor.

To challenge myself and to explore other courses, I opted to take CSE 1222 and MATH 1172 on top of my course load for biology and art. Unfortunately, this endeavor did not pan out well as the rigorous coursework and ensuing pandemic left my GPA a little worse for wear. Despite these losses, I am grateful for the wake-up call that told me my previous studying strategies and habits weren’t working. I was able to take time during the quarantine to review notes and create a new study plan that I hope will provide better results as I take on more challenging courses like RELSTDS 2370H, ACCAD 5001, HISTORY 3365, all classes I hope will broaden my academic knowledge.

During my first semester at OSU, I had the honor of joining the Boo Radley Society, a service-oriented club, as a general member, and then a captain. It was fun working alongside like-minded friends with the same goal of spreading kindness. Learning from fellow captains and leading my own group contributed to my understanding of what it means to be a leader. While I wasn’t selected for an executive position this past year, I am still grateful for the leadership opportunity I was given. I hope to continue to improve my skills as a leader and will try again this coming year.

I was involved in Semester of Service during which I volunteered with Mozaic, a safe space for the trans community. While it was only for a short period of time, I learned a lot about a community I never had the chance to interact with before. Because of the pandemic, it’s been hard being to engage with the community like that again. Even so, I hope to find online and remote opportunities that will teach me more about my community.

While my sophomore year was full of deviations from the initial plan, it still gave me different experiences that contributed to my growth.

 

 

 

 

Year in Review

[ “Year in Review”  is where you should reflect on the past year and show how you have evolved as a person and as a student.  You may want to focus on your growth in a particular area (as a leader, scholar, researcher, etc.) or you may want to talk about your overall experience over the past year.  For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]