Con-graduations to all my friends, high school students, and college students everywhere! Great job, class of 2008, you did it!
These last four years really passed by like the wind. I will briefly outline the highlights of each year (of course, most of them are concentrated in my extracurricular activities...and now that I'm out of school, I realize how little grades mean, since I don't even remember when I got what...except for a few rare courses o_O; this stuff is all off the top of my head, so much of my fun friendship activities may not be listed):
Freshman Year:- Started out as an ICAM major - once fought with a T.A. about semiotics and almost won (but the T.A. had to somehow save his own ass and asked the professor for information).
- Lots of interaction with TAs and Professors, as well as helpful students....aced calculus, even though I was superapprehensive about taking the courses.
- Joined MASA & APSA, loved the clubs.
- Met Ren & Jen.
- Halloween craziness at VSA, where a guy hit on me.
- Crushed on a guy I met online, as well as this engineer that was not planning to date for a long time o_O.
- Hardcore coding for one quarter, but then decided ICAM wasn't for me.
- First year of kunFUSION :) and the decision to get on MASA staff.
Sophomore Year:- The year I took on paying jobs - notetaker, Diversity Correspondent (got me interested in journalism, perhaps more of a photojournalistic approach as compared to traditional).
- MASA Historian and Fusion Sponsorship Coordinator (thanks to J.W. for allowing me to take over) - learned so much about leadershp this year, as well as taking initiative. More kunFUSION <3.
- Got my first boyfriend...which did not help with grades...but it allowed me to grow.
Junior Year:The year of too-many-extracurricular-activities. I nearly killed myself by working 13-15 hours a week in an office, balancing difficult upper division classes, and being HEAVILY involved in (count it!) three orgs as staff - UIS External Committee, FMA Membership Coordinator, and MASA Admin / kunFUSION Funny-song choreographer/ kunFUSION dancer / Fusion Sponsorship Coordinator. Three orgs, but MULTIPLE positions. It was a hardcore year.
Senior Year:- I really ventured out of the UCSD circle. Went to Downtown San Diego to experience the amazing nightlife. Made awesome friends that loved to go out as much as I do ;) Yes, and Vegas ^^.
- The "Breaking In of Ren and Jen"...lol.
- Leadershippy year, with multiple roles of Director of Communications (Marketing for conference, as well) and President for my financial orgs. Pretty awesome way to end the years of leadership.
- Took Game Theory and Marketing, my favorite classes 'within' my major.
Post-Graduation Thoughts:Yeah, I'll miss college. I don't have large, verbose descriptions of profound thoughts, but I must say that I did just about everything I ever wanted to do in college, except for 1) learning to DJ (can always learn it later) and 2) studying abroad (which I'm going to fulfill this year anyway - with a bonus! Living and studying and WORKING abroad).
I am so grateful to have met everyone I did during these four years, in college or at work, because you have all influenced me in numerous, indistinguishable ways. Even if the influence was negative, I found I have grown from the experience, from making mistakes to learning from them. With positive influences, I discovered that I have become a more optimistic person.
Top skills I want to continue to develop:
1) Networking (Role Model: Nikki K.)
2) Public Speaking (Role Models: DLP Emcees, Steven R.)
3) Leadership (Role Model: Anna O.)
Things I learned in college:
1) Dedication without the incentive of pay - doing things for the sheer joy of it
2) Time management and balancing activities for maximum efficiency
3) Learning the importance of interaction, and especially, of diplomacy ( learning to communicate harsh words kindly)
4) Automation and independence - anyone can take on anything!
5) Importance of taking care of one's health :)
I recently found a blogsite with some important, but simple tips for college grads:
1) Pay off debts
2) Start putting $ into your retirement account and let it grow
3) Find a mentor
4) Continue learning
5) Always be networking
6) Keep rent low
7) Enjoy life
Source: http://www.dumblittleman.com/2008/06/7-things-i-wish-i-had-known-day-after.htmlAgain, I wish you all health, prosperity, and success (in any way you define it)! I'll see you at my next blog.
Comments (1)
congrats =] studying and working abroad should be alot of fun.