Year in Review
College is like a cyclone. Yet, its a good kind of natural disaster. If anyone were to ask me how I imagined myself at the end of my first year of college, I’m sure I would tell you “probably miserable,” “sick of school,” or anything pessimistic.
However, college has made me realized there’s so much more to life than just the usual homework, studying, testing, and more. College is all about finding yourself with what you like and dislike as a person, finding friends that are similar to you, taking risks, and challenging yourself in every way capable. I have grown academically with my achievements in my classes, GPA, midterms, extracurriculars, and it’s all thanks to my experience here at Ohio State University (OSU).
As a student, I have been able to heavily challenge myself by taking 18 credit hours and be able to manage the variety of in-person and online classes. Sure, there are times where it was rough to manage with everything having similar due dates but overall, it isn’t as bad as everyone makes it out to be. This is all due to my organizational skills and I am glad that I have been able to have this under my belt or else I would never be where I am today.
Everyone talks about how they changed their major as soon as they got to college and I am thankful that I have been determined and really found my passion within dentistry as a first year at OSU. I have had good volunteering experiences, Pre-Dental Club meetings, and met some amazing people who are more than willing to help me along my undergraduate years. Also, over the summer I am even shadowing some dentists in my community to get an even more diverse perspective on the field that I will eventually be on in the future.
One thing that was a stark contrast from high school to college was the lack of grades per classes and the heavy influence that midterms have on a student’s overall grade. Despite how I studied a week in advance for my Chemistry 1210 class, I didn’t achieve the grade that I thought I would get. It was much lower than I expected; however, my resiliency aided me and I was able to try different studying methods and score a higher score later in my midterms. This negative moment made me realize that it isn’t always about grades and you will trip up at times but you aren’t alone. The average was even lower than my score too!
On a more positive note, I was able to participate in an advocacy fellowship for the Asian American Community Services in the autumn semester. In becoming an advocacy fellow, I have undergone training for domestic violence, sexual abuse, and safety training in order to be an aid for other Asian Americans in the area. Also, I was able to teach a sociology class on the stereotypes of Asian Americans and breaking down the social barriers and perspectives that many people have on us. I wouldn’t have been able to do this if I didn’t take the risk and step out of my comfort zone. I didn’t think I was able to even get this fellowship due to my year in college but I took a shot. Now here I am, making a difference within the Asian American community and bringing awareness to our ethnic group.
Sure, I have had negative and positive experiences in my first year of college; however, that is what growing up and being your own self is like. All of these moments in college have shaped and morphed me into who I am today and I would never trade it for anything else. It’s priceless. The past nine months have flown by, made me reconsider certain aspects of my life, but I would never have done it any other way.