Winter Quarter Reflection

Winter quarter of 2021-2022 was the quarter I really came into my own at UW I think. It’s
the quarter I really began to have fun, find friends, develop better study skills for in person
classes, and learn how to ask for help.
Finding a better group of friends and becoming less afraid to explore connection with
people was definitely the thing that made this quarter better. I was able to connect with people
from some of my RSOs, HOPE and Liberated Voices Washington. My friends from HOPE and I
signed up for a class together (the Honors Public Health Class) and would study together and
worked to a point where we would watch movies and do dinner together and go on long walks
and talks. Some folks from Liberated Voices took some of the same classes as me, and we’d
walk back to the West Campus dorm together after class and text each other about
assignments. It wasn’t like we were all immediately best friends, but knowing a couple people in
each of my classes that I could sit next to and talk with was so nice. I didn’t feel as alone as I
had during the quarantine and over fall quarter. I finally started to feel at home on campus.
Feeling more at home made my classes themselves so much more enjoyable, too. I had a
reason to go in person to class every day instead of staying at home to watch the lectures. I
engaged more in class and grew more as a student because of it.
I also learned from this experience that having more fun in my classes meant having
more success. When I didn’t stress too much about the classes, when I decided to go in and
have fun and talk with my friends and treat the really difficult classes like a game, I really started
to succeed and shine. When I didn’t feel a looming sense that I would fail everything if I messed
up even one tiny thing, I was able to put more effort in and started avoiding work for certain
classes less. Fall quarter, when I was taking the first class in the calculus series, I pushed all the
homework back to the last minute because I swear to god I did NOT want to do it. Winter
quarter I tried to change my mindset into “math is and can be fun” and it helped significantly in
starting my work early. Having more friends and connections really helped change this mindset
as well. I had started to make friends who had taken these classes before through my roomates,
and we would all study together and were there to offer support when I needed it. Having people
there to complain with and wade through the ickiness of those classes together helped me enjoy
learning that material so much more.
During this quarter, I also truly began to internalize that asking for help is ok. Reaching
out to a TA ahead of time to communicate that you’re struggling with an assignment does not
mean that you are bad or wrong or a failure. It means that you are an effective communicator.
Admitting that a class is hard does not mean that you’re dumb, it just means that you can reflect
on where and how to better focus your energies for more success. Asking for help does not
mean that you are a failure. It means that you know what you need, and it means that you are
more likely to get support that will actually be helpful for you.
I also have accommodations for ADHD and some mental health stuff, and asking for
help more this quarter also got me more comfortable with my accommodations. I have felt weird
about them for a while. I didn’t need need them throughout much of high school, and I would
probably do ok without them (though maybe my mental health would take a hit). I’ve also felt
weird for a long time about the privilege I have in being able to access accommodations. So
many other people have less visible issues and needs. Why am I someone who can access
accommodations for my needs and issues? But this quarter really helped me realize that feeling
weird and not fully utilizing my accommodations is not going to help people who can’t access
them, and that using my accommodations does not mean that I am less than, it means that I am
using a resource set aside for me. It means that I am using a resource I need.
Overall the biggest change this quarter for me was that I started to take my academic
success off a pedestal. I began to realize that it is ok to fail, and it is ok to focus on friendships,
and that 100% of my time does not need to be dedicated to schoolwork. This quarter didn’t
completely change me as a person, but it helped me begin to realize some fundamental lessons
that I will take with me through the rest of college, lessons that wll hopefully serve me well.