The Third Year

Out of all the years at UC Irvine, this was probably the most uneventful year out of the four. I think reading that may come with a negative connotation, but my intention is good. I think it was good to have such a year. Due to the past two years of constant change and adjustments, I think having nothing going on really helped me mentally. Although I was busy with another board position (Administrative Chair for Alyansa, the Filipino umbrella organization), and various other activities, the amount of change was much less than before, and with that, I could really get into my "groove" in terms of balancing my academia and extracurricular activity. I think that learning how to properly balance my life was one of the most important lessons I got from being away from home. Although I would have managed to do well if I were at home, I think there were some distinct advantages and experiences I had from attending school away from my hometown. My third year really helped me to see the unique situation I've been put in and guided my reflection on what I want to be in the future, not just career-wise but as a human being. I came to the realization that there were certain things that the absence of home can teach me, and this was the optimal time to experience such lessons. I'd call this year the reflection year.

The activities to take note of this year include being Admin Chair, PACN for my second year, joining UCI Men's Rowing for a quarter or so, being invited to the Anteater Leadership Summit as a Student Panelist, and being inducted into the Pi Gamma Mu Honor Society.

On a side note, daily update, kind of a lazy day today. Just got some reading done. Working on blog posts like this help get the creative juices flowing. Ranked up on TFT and Chess too. Will need to jog for the UCI Strava 50 mile challenge later and eventually start the Quant Fundamentals course for UC Davis.