Year in Review: First Year
This year has been, in a word, insane. I came in knowing nothing, and left having learned something. A sense of who I am. To be totally cliche, I made a lot of new friends, had fun at the football games, and ate way too much pizza. But in reality, I did more than that. I formed bonds through my work in studio and through UC Honors that will carry on for years and years to come. I cheered on the Bearcats at every single home game, no matter how bad the weather was or how much I would regret going to the game instead of doing work. And yes, I ate way, way, way too much pizza. But in the end, it was all worth it, because of the experiences. I took hard classes outside of my major, which will help me later in my career. I stayed up late to cram on assignments, because I knew that I would be able to focus best if I was afraid of failing. And most importantly, I let go of the extremely introverted person I was in high school, with a friend group consisting entirely of people with a common interest. I found that I had more in common with others than I thought. And if I didn't? Then we would create the experiences to have things in common with each other.
The most significant experience I overcame this year was self-doubt. The first two or three weeks of school I was flying high. I knew what was going on in studio and was performing at a high level. And then I realized that I had fallen towards the back of the pack. I started to doubt whether or not I was good enough to be in DAAP, whether I could even finish out a semester in architecture. Each final project came with a completely new revision or idea less than 12 hours before the due date. I doubted my work, my intelligence, whether I should even be at UC, or was I better off just joining the work force now and saving time and money instead of wasting four years on a degree. But after the first semester ended, I was finally starting to become happy with my work. My skills were improving, I was thinking and working at a higher level, and my personal life wasn't as chaotic as it had been. I realized that I needed that self-doubt, I needed to question my decisions more times than I would like to count, and I needed to hit rock bottom before I could stand up again. I learned who I was because of this. I learned that I know I have what it takes to finish these next three years of school and earn my degree, no matter what anybody else says.
If I could change one thing about this year, it would be how I chose to spend my time. I found myself far too often staying up late doing work I should have completed days ago. I wasted time, I found ways to screw around and not focus on looming deadlines. And that's why I suffered the first semester. I didn't take my education as seriously as I should have, and it shows. But I've dedicated myself to working harder, and managing my time better, all while making time for the people that I don't make enough time for, and those who matter in my life.
What piece of advice would you like to give yourself as you prepare for the upcoming year, be that academically, personally, or both?
If I could tell myself one thing for this upcoming year, it would be that I shouldn't get hung up on the little things. It's something I do often, over-think and over-analyze most of what is happening in my work and in my life. So I just want to tell myself to not do what comes naturally, and instead be out of my comfort zone and go with the flow of what happens.
For this upcoming year, my goal is to continue to learn outside of the classroom. I want to teach myself new skills and programs, and if I don't get to learn this in class, it's important that I learn outside of class, so that I can get ahead of classmates and give myself better opportunities for the future.
I want to give back to the community through green design. I believe that green design is the future of the planet and of mankind, so if I'm able to influence or give back to my community in any way, it would have to be in a way that is beneficial to the entirety of society.
The most significant experience I overcame this year was self-doubt. The first two or three weeks of school I was flying high. I knew what was going on in studio and was performing at a high level. And then I realized that I had fallen towards the back of the pack. I started to doubt whether or not I was good enough to be in DAAP, whether I could even finish out a semester in architecture. Each final project came with a completely new revision or idea less than 12 hours before the due date. I doubted my work, my intelligence, whether I should even be at UC, or was I better off just joining the work force now and saving time and money instead of wasting four years on a degree. But after the first semester ended, I was finally starting to become happy with my work. My skills were improving, I was thinking and working at a higher level, and my personal life wasn't as chaotic as it had been. I realized that I needed that self-doubt, I needed to question my decisions more times than I would like to count, and I needed to hit rock bottom before I could stand up again. I learned who I was because of this. I learned that I know I have what it takes to finish these next three years of school and earn my degree, no matter what anybody else says.
If I could change one thing about this year, it would be how I chose to spend my time. I found myself far too often staying up late doing work I should have completed days ago. I wasted time, I found ways to screw around and not focus on looming deadlines. And that's why I suffered the first semester. I didn't take my education as seriously as I should have, and it shows. But I've dedicated myself to working harder, and managing my time better, all while making time for the people that I don't make enough time for, and those who matter in my life.
What piece of advice would you like to give yourself as you prepare for the upcoming year, be that academically, personally, or both?
If I could tell myself one thing for this upcoming year, it would be that I shouldn't get hung up on the little things. It's something I do often, over-think and over-analyze most of what is happening in my work and in my life. So I just want to tell myself to not do what comes naturally, and instead be out of my comfort zone and go with the flow of what happens.
For this upcoming year, my goal is to continue to learn outside of the classroom. I want to teach myself new skills and programs, and if I don't get to learn this in class, it's important that I learn outside of class, so that I can get ahead of classmates and give myself better opportunities for the future.
I want to give back to the community through green design. I believe that green design is the future of the planet and of mankind, so if I'm able to influence or give back to my community in any way, it would have to be in a way that is beneficial to the entirety of society.