Almost Midway Through My First Semester: How's It Going?

Hello everyone! It’s been nearly over a month since I wrote my last post, I am so happy to be back and have the opportunity to write!

So I’m close to the middle of my first semester and I am still adjusting to the college lifestyle. In the past couple of weeks I’ve had some mid-term exams and other major assignments due that have consumed most of my time.

For Biology, I had my first exam and didn’t do as well as I had anticipated. It’s an 8:30am class, and being that I am now a college student, my brain doesn't fully function unless I am up for a couple hours. I tried not to stay up too late, because then I would be even more tired the next day. I also studied with a study group in the library for 2 hours (which is such an underutilized and quiet place) and studied further myself for a couple hours. The exam itself was mostly multiple choice, followed by some short answer questions. Although passing, it taught me one thing: review more often and frequently. What I mean by that it likely instead of cramming in all of the material to study in one week, instead I could review the material learned per week with things like Quizlet’s like that, that way it isn’t so much to uphold come exam time. We also performed my first inquiry lab, whereby I have a lab report to do on the differences in Bacterial Diversity amongst fresh and frozen tilapia samples.

In addition to that, I also had one of my first midterms for my International Relations class. Although not my absolute favorite class, it gets the job done, and covers something that I was generally interested in learning about. Unlike Biology, it wasn’t set up like a traditional multiple-choice style exam. Instead it was an open-book exam, meaning that I could use my text-book, powerpoint presentations on my laptop, and handwritten notes, but not the internet. It also instead of multiple choice was composed of 3 short answer style questions, each handwritten to be around 250 words each. It was something that I wasn’t expecting, but nonetheless wasn’t too too difficult (especially being open-book). The rest of my classes have been going along well, nothing to extreme just yet.

Otherwise another major academic update is that I am considering a new major and adding some minors. Now I am not completely switching, but I am likely going towards a Biochemistry major (formally called Chemistry with a concentration in Biochemistry). For my field of study that I hope to get into, which is research, Biochemistry might open more opportunities in regards to getting involved in careers such as pharmaceuticals and such.The only thing I really want to avoid are clinical trials (I don’t want to be a doctor or work in the medical field explicitly). Biology is also more generalized, and especially because I don’t want to go into a medical field, Biochemistry could be more suitable. However, one of the downsides is that it requires a greater rigor of math and physics classes, making the major stronger in the long run, however making it harder on my part.

"Mom In The Sunflowers", Julian Rebelo, 2019

Also in regards to minors, I was able to go get some information on how to integrate them into my already tough science schedule. Most majors have electives built into them, allowing for one to take classes in whatever they’d choose, hence, leaving room for a minor. I am currently interested/looking into minors like Business Administration, Photography, or Journalism. For Business, I am looking into this because is good for me to have somewhat of a backup plan for after college. Interestingly, a Business Administration minor doesn't share many courses that Business majors would take whatsoever (there are more rigorous minors for business as well). If I wanted to, I could take an Introduction to Business course as well, just to get a feel what it’s like. Photography and Journalism I chose because they provide me to explore and express myself, and would provide me with the opportunity to take a break from already rigorous schedule (like my current photography course which I absolutely love). Although tough, there might be even more room for me to double minor, in which I might end with a few extra credits then left over by the time I graduate.

Relieving Stress :

If you know me, you’ll know that I can get stressed easily. Hence Wise, I’ve been looking into mechanisms and methods to delicately balance my time management but also making time for myself. Although I bullet journal, write, take photography, and listen to music, I’ve been in the need to adopt something else to relieve stress.

So I started running! Around campus provides the perfect foundations and environment for a safe place to run. The past couple have been done late at night, around 12:30am, and I run about 3 miles (a 5K length) each time. I run that late intentionally to avoid people, and be good wind-down to end my day. And I have already been improving!

I also hope to integrate a regular lifting exercise regiment into routine, especially on days where I don’t have as much things to do like classes. It ultimately allows me to make myself feel better, both mentally and physically.

I am also starting to find some other clubs and things to get involved in, and will be writing for the Outlook on campus. I have some new ideas planned to write about, and also recently met met with faculty to find some further insight to see if research is truly something I want to get into as a career field.