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Olivia Gargaro
Honors 100B
9 November 2021
Honors Reflection
Coming to the University of Washington, I had no idea what to expect. Sure, there are
plenty of rumors both positive and negative about how incoming freshmen fare during their first
quarter, but nothing concrete. This is doubled by the fact that it had been two solid years since
UW welcomed back students to campus in full force. No one had a solid theory on how the
school, the staff, or even the student population would react in these conditions with the
lingering threat of moving back online even as vaccine requirements were fulfilled to almost
100% accuracy. Yet, I was determined to make the most of freshman year and to not let these
strings of uncertainty dampen my progression into university life. Thus, I stepped onto campus
for the first time as a true UW student, unlocked my dorm room, and unpacked my life with my
family by my side.
Beginning classes, I had lofty goals. Maybe not to get straight 4.0s (this is college, after
all), but rather to pass all my courses with as high a grade as I can manage with the given
workload. Now, I can say I’ve been fairly successful at that, even the unrealistic yearning for
straight As that I haven’t managed to kick just yet has been fulfilled. I will say, the reality of
weed-out courses is crueler than I ever imagined. Mathematics has never been my strong suit,
but after my somewhat abysmal performance in UW’s Math 124 class, I may have to take a step
back and attempt to fulfill my math requirements at a later date. I wish I had had the sense to
listen to my elder peers and genuinely comprehend the difficulty of UW’s calculus series.
Furthermore, I wish I had known how isolating the campus itself can be. I figured
dorming within the Honors LLC would allow me to branch out socially, or that attending a lot of
first-year events would introduce me to more people I may stick around with for the next four
years. Yet, those efforts were marginally successful at best. I’ve found that the best friends are
discovered in common courses, the shared moment of exasperation at a particularly difficult
assignment, the disbursement of notes, the quietly hilarious moment of eye contact across an
exam room when you both know you’ve failed outstandingly on a weekly quiz. I’ve discovered
that these small moments are more important in the building of lifelong friendships than
attending a larger event or sharing the same residential hall. So even though I continue to
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consider UW a rather isolating campus with an introverted student population, the making of
friends and the expanding of my social circle has not been as difficult as it first appeared.
Moreover, at the time of creating my 4 year plan, I realized just how daunting my major
is. Biochemistry is no joke, and though I never considered it one, staring into a spreadsheet full
of weed-out courses stacked two, three high per quarter shook me to my core. I knew the
hardship of taking simply one such class, but the thought of stacking them immensely high?
Horrifying. I scheduled an advising appointment through Honors and had a long conversation
about potentially changing my major. I may have acted rashly, but I am fully confident I can get
into a medical program without suffering through biochemistry as my primary major. Why not
explore global health, medical anthropology, or even biology? Thus, as of this moment, I
continue to evaluate a major change and my goal is to be solid within my pre-medical track by
the end of this academic year. Whether that means being a medical anthropology major with a
minor in biology, or cementing myself as a biochemist after all, I’m not quite sure. That’s up for
future me to decide.
By the time I conclude my first year as an Honors student, I hope to have mapped out my
future courses once and for all. Furthermore, I want to have my experiential studies planned prior
to starting sophomore year at UW. Whether those are planned research programs, studying
abroad, or some sort of volunteering initiative, I’m not yet sure. I find that, overall, this first
autumn quarter has both confirmed and shaken my initial beliefs about the University of
Washington. I believe wholeheartedly these first experiences have shaped me for the better. As I
move forward through my educational journey, I hope to look back on this reflection and see not
only my progression as a student, but also as a person, staring straight back at me.