To put it simply, these past two semesters have been interesting. Living the fast-paced life of college didn’t come easy at first, but with time, I gradually learned to adapt to the demands of the situation I was in. Looking back on this year, it’s crazy to see how much I’ve changed from when I moved into the small, musty fourth floor room in Bradley Hall last September.
A large part of what made the beginning of this year interesting was the high level of uncertainty there was. The uncertainty about being able to connect with others, uncertainty about how eminent the Covid risk was, uncertainty about whether or not attending in-person events was a good idea. This game of weighing the risks and benefits ended more often that not with me making a decision based on a “Why Not?” Although mistakes were made from this spontaneity, learning and dealing with these uncertainties led me to question my values, allowing me to me grow as a person fundamentally and gain a better understanding of the things that were important to me. Thankfully, I never did end up getting Covid in the process.
In addition to the dealing with covid, learning to adapt to the demands of college courses and extracurriculars was also an integral part of my first-year experience. My first semester, I took Chemistry 1210, Biology 1114, and Psychology 3313. Although I learned a lot from the classes themselves, a lot of the learning also took place outside of those classes, predominantly in the areas of time management and learning how to adapt to online classes.
By the time second semester rolled around, I was deeply involved in several extracurriculars. I had joined Ekal Vidyalaya, a club that supports education in rural, underprivileged areas in India, and Doctors without Borders. Being involved in extracurriculars also presented its own set of challenges – predominantly regarding the level of involvement possible with online meetings and the lack of in-person events. Although it was difficult, I found that actively participating in the virtual meetings was the best way to become more engaged in my extracurriculars. I also got involved in research second semester, joining Dr. Ruth Barrientos’ lab as an undergraduate research assistant. Right now, I’m currently working on a project that deals with the effects of a certain protein in Alzheimer’s prevention.
This first year has undoubtedly molded me in many ways, allowing me to expand my understanding the world in general. The people I’ve met and the experiences I’ve had make this year a memorable year and I have high hopes for what is to come of the next three years at college.