Coming to UNC Charlotte from Ohio, I knew that I would not only have to adjust to the

college experience but also to living exactly 500 miles away from what has been my home for all
of life. Growing up in a stereotypical affluent suburban school district had shaped what David
Foster Wallace refers to in his commencement address as default settings in more ways than I
knew until I moved here. There are many different types of default settings, ranging from human
nature to be self-centered to the way someone learns in school. Throughout my first semester at
UNC Charlotte, I have slowly been able to identify some of my default settings and work on
changing them in a positive way.
I am an only child, so going from having a bedroom to myself that is probably as large as
both bedrooms in my Witherspoon Hall suite combined to sharing a room with someone else and
having two other suitemates was a bit of a shock at first. I think the fact that my roommate is also
an only child helped make my adjustment easier. Both of our default settings were originally to
keep to our own personal belongings and to not touch the other persons unless you specifically
asked. As the semester has progressed, we became closer and closer to the point that our default
settings started to naturally change on their own without us even realizing it. Now we feel
comfortable sharing belongings and often do not even think twice about it. My default setting
from human nature of being self-centered has now adapted so that before I do something in my
suite, I consider my suitemates and how it would affect them too.
Taking Advanced Placement and Honors classes in high school made me develop a
default setting of approaching an assignment according to the rubric in order that I would get a
decent grade on it. When I first started getting assignments this semester, it felt weird and
frustrating to not be getting a rubric with them most of the time. Professors wanted me to write
reflectively, meaning that there really was no specific right or wrong answers. It went against my

default setting of writing papers to be including phrases such as I believe or I think. As I

started practicing writing in this style more, I began to greatly enjoy writing this way. It allowed
me to explore further what I was thinking and to gain a more thorough understanding of the
topics that I was learning than I would have before this. I think my Wellness Event Reflections
illustrate this well. Before this semester, I most likely would not have thought about the new
information that I had learned and incorporated it into my life as much as I have done.
Furthermore, another default setting that was instilled in me by my Advanced Placement
and Honors classes in high school was that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics,
which is also referred to as STEM, were the most important subjects that you needed to learn to
be successful. I never had a problem with this idea since I have always enjoyed and been good at
math and am now majoring in it. Entering into this semester, I did not fully understand the
importance of getting a liberal arts education because of my beliefs about STEM importance. I
am in UWRT 1103 and a visual arts course this semester. These two classes have influenced my
opinion of the importance of a liberal arts education. Being a math major, I will have to take at
least two math courses each semester. Getting a chance to take classes that not only will provide
me with a well-rounded education but also let me have a variety in my schedule is something
that I have come to really appreciate during this semester and look forward to in the upcoming
semesters. When I met with my academic advisor at SOAR during the summer, she suggested
that I consider adding an English minor because it would help me be a well-versed candidate
when I started applying for jobs as an actuary in the future. When she told me this, it originally
went in one ear and out the other. I was still stuck in my default setting about subjects other than
STEM. As the semester progressed and I realized I surprisingly was enjoying my English class
and the writing that we were doing in this Freshman Colloquium, I recalled what my advisor had

suggested. I started investigating what it would take for me to earn an English minor. I was
pleased when I found that I could easily fit the classes into my schedule in the years to come and
that I was actually very intrigued by some of my options of English classes I could take. I am
amazed to think that I have gone over the span of one semester from having a default setting of
STEM only to now not only believing in the value of a liberal arts education but also to declaring
a minor in English.
Similar to most people, I have a default setting of wanting to stay in my comfort zone.
For the past few years, I have been trying to slowly change this and step out of my comfort zone
more often. I believe the first major milestone in this change was when I decided during my
senior year of high school that I was going to continue my educational career here at UNC
Charlotte. I knew I would really be testing myself by going to college in a different state instead
of taking the easy route and going to The Ohio State University with most of my friends and
former classmates. Throughout my first semester here, I have had many opportunities through
the University Honors Program to step outside of my comfort zone and grow as a result of this,
as illustrated in my The Yellow Birds and City as Text reflections.
As my first semester comes to an end, I am pleased when I look back at all of the changes
I have made in the way I think about certain topics from my experiences through the University
Honors Program and from being at UNC Charlotte. I look forward to the semesters to come and
all of the opportunities for growth that I have not yet experienced.