The First Year

The first step is always the toughest to take. Walking into my UCI dorm that first time was a deceivingly easy one. I was going into UCI with some form of familiarity, as I was going to be in a room with one of my closest friends since elementary school. Having to share a room with him and two other roommates, I found it hard to imagine. Being an only child, I imagined the chemistry between all of us would have to be spot-on to have a decent year together without any awkwardness or festering issues. I wanted to make a good impression on all of them, by being meticulous to an extent and making sure my area would be clean and tidy so they could walk past (since my bed was the closest to the entrance to the room). I believe I did, and in hindsight, UCI did a great job with our room. My long-time "twin" Ryan and I had a memorable experience as roommates. I had always heard that being roommates with your friend can either end in an extremely positive or negative way. Fortunately, I believe we came out of it even closer, considering we ended up being housemates for the following 3 years. The other two roommates knew each other and were both Filipino. Being able to connect with them about our culture and way of life made me feel more at ease. Throughout the year, I kept them in mind, and did my best to be considerate, kind, and not create any tension that would alter our room's peacefulness. I did not become that active my first year. Getting accustomed to dorm life and hall mates, in itself, was difficult and time-consuming enough. Although I did not go out to org meetings as much as I hoped, the feeling of loneliness never settled in because I felt that the dorm and its residents were plenty. I spent innumerable hours hanging out with people within my dorm, and when I wasn't there, I would be in the room, studying or what have you. I wish I could have pushed myself to go beyond the dorm that year and explored the various campus organizations. I hope that in the coming years I will be able to not hold back and just go for those opportunities when I see them.

Some notable achievements include being on the Dean's Honor List for the first time (certainly not the last), auditioning and getting placed in the competitive UCI Jazz Orchestra (filled with music major veterans), and receiving a First Place Award at a Talent Competition (for playing my saxophone).

All in all,That year was a turning point in my career. I had a rough time not only getting used to an independent way of life surrounded by a bunch of unfamiliar faces, but also in my academia. I began to realize that my initial major of Computer Science, was not what I felt truly passionate for. I always heard that you should take a major where the classes are never tedious for you and where the "work" in that field would not be "work" for you. By being fervid about what you do, nothing will ever become work for you, since you enjoy doing the work and its accompanying tasks. With that year coming to a close, I reflected on the year, what I loved to do, and how I could apply those experiences and shape them into one major. Of course, at the time and even now, this was easily the most important decision of my life. I chose Business Economics due to my fervor for discussions and interaction with others, as well as the innate talent I had for mathematics and strategic-based logic. But, what held me back was the ingrained stigma that switching majors was a bad thing and seen as a "failure". However, pushing through that way of thinking and envisioning the future I want, I've managed tremendous success in the following years as a Business Economics student, as we will soon explore.