Ruiz 1

Lucia Ruiz Amador

HONORS 100
23 November 2020

Autumn Quarter Reflection

At the beginning of the quarter, one of my main goals was to get to know more people
and get to know campus better, since I’m currently on campus. My expectations for myself were
very high, I really should’ve taken to account my social anxiety. It’s been a semi-rough quarter,
academic wise, I’ve been doing good. I have procrastinated though not to the point where I am
weeks behind, I was behind only lecture videos, however, I have since created a system that
works so that I don’t forget to watch it. I also should’ve taken into account just how willing I was
to meet people outside of class, I am not. I have family who are high-risk who I occasionally
visit during the weekends, I consider myself lucky since they only live 30 minutes away from
campus. Even in virtual events, I have no idea how to approach people, which makes me hesitant
to go to any virtual events, both for Honors or for the building I’m housing in.
Something that surprised me about myself is my eating habits. I never gave it much
thought before but I definitely do miss having someone cook meals. If I received a quarter for
every time I burned myself, I could’ve saved up for Kimich Fried Rice from a restaurant on The
Ave. I also noticed that the only snacks I eat are yogurt and fruit. I was given a care package
from my cousin, full of rice Krispies, goldfish, tea, Oreos, you name it, but I have not touch any
of it. I eat those like desserts, which on-campus I rarely eat. Additionally, my sleep schedule also
surprised me, back home, while I was still semi-attending high school, I would sleep so late that
I’d sometimes see the sun rising. During my first quarter, I’ve had the opportunity to take naps,
the first time I took a power nap, I woke up with so much energy that I finished a 20 page single
space reading in one sitting.
The way some professors reach out and teach. I was so used to all my classes having the
same structure and style that after 3 weeks at UW I was learning so much better than I ever did in
high school. I was expecting uptight professors who wouldn’t answer questions and would teach
straight out of a textbook. I don’t know if it’s because of the FIG and other Honors classes I am
in, but my professors for this quarter are definitely amazing. I was also never expected for a
professor of mine to ask to be referred to by his first name rather than his last name, it made me
believe what I have heard about what college is really like from my high school teachers.
By the end of my first year in Honors, I hope to know more people, not just names and
what majors they intend to pursue but what they like, what shows they like, if they’re from the
state or not. Just make more friends overall and try to get over my fear of meeting new people.
Additionally, be in constant contact with people in Honors, from students to staff and faculty,
make more connections. As well as decide on what my experiential learning activities are gonna
be and how I should prepare for them.

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