A Fourth Year In Review.
"Wherever you are, be all there." ― Jim Elliot
Through the course of my fourth collegiate year at UC, I have become incredibly confident in who I am and where my talents and passions lie. I have felt myself transition to a new form of leadership in most of my organizations as a mentor, taking what I've learned as an underclassman and young leader and sharing it with others. I have found it to be extremely rewarding and I now want to impact others on campus as well. This desire has guided me to new involvements such as the Learning Assistance Center, while maintaining my presence in existing involvements such as Chi Omega.
Upon reflection, I believe this transition was sparked by my intense travel schedule which inhibited me from working on the front line of events and programs held by organizations in which I was involved. This physical distance from campus forced me to take on support roles and provide guidance, suggestions, and resources to those that now worked the front line. I realized through these support roles that I had actually learned a great deal about the organizations and the campus in my first three years. I have the ability to connect others and offer suggestions for process improvements because I knew old processes and outcomes so thoroughly. I experienced a new feeling of accomplishment – an accomplishment where I successfully empowered others to impact the campus and community.
My perspective on so many things has changed. In my first and second years of college, my idea of academic and extracurricular success was to be the top in every class, earn perfect scores, and do everything on my own. For practically all of my classes and organizations, this ended up being the case. I studied for hours on end and was the point person for all communications and event logistics. However my obsession for perfection and anxiety over the potential of losing my status caused me to develop social, mental and physical health problems.
What I thought was success at the time is not how I define success now. Academic success should never come at the expense of my health and social well-being. My philosophy of academic and extracurricular success focuses on quality over quantity, and balance above all. Preparing adequately and having confidence in my intelligence and reasoning abilities will help me succeed academically while maintaining sanity. I now try to say yes to non-academic opportunities in which I don’t have a leadership role, even if it cuts into into weekend studying time. This has provided me a mental break and stimulation of another kind. I formed new and deeper relationships and learn life skills. I attended by choice rather than by requirement.
This balance is an art that takes time to develop, but as I become more aware of who I am as a student, friend, and young professional, the better I become at balancing all parts of my life and gaining meaningful knowledge from my coursework, involvement, and peers. This separation from campus was necessary to break the trance I was in and give others a chance to shine. Contrary to my initial beliefs, I seem to learn more as the distance between myself and the work increases. I learn from my younger peers who are now taking the lead. I learn from my own lessons I give as a mentor to these young leaders. And I hope to continue learning from my campus and community as I focus on my personal growth. I can never know where the next learning opportunity will present itself, so I hope to give my all to everyone in the role I am needed, wherever I am.
Through the course of my fourth collegiate year at UC, I have become incredibly confident in who I am and where my talents and passions lie. I have felt myself transition to a new form of leadership in most of my organizations as a mentor, taking what I've learned as an underclassman and young leader and sharing it with others. I have found it to be extremely rewarding and I now want to impact others on campus as well. This desire has guided me to new involvements such as the Learning Assistance Center, while maintaining my presence in existing involvements such as Chi Omega.
Upon reflection, I believe this transition was sparked by my intense travel schedule which inhibited me from working on the front line of events and programs held by organizations in which I was involved. This physical distance from campus forced me to take on support roles and provide guidance, suggestions, and resources to those that now worked the front line. I realized through these support roles that I had actually learned a great deal about the organizations and the campus in my first three years. I have the ability to connect others and offer suggestions for process improvements because I knew old processes and outcomes so thoroughly. I experienced a new feeling of accomplishment – an accomplishment where I successfully empowered others to impact the campus and community.
My perspective on so many things has changed. In my first and second years of college, my idea of academic and extracurricular success was to be the top in every class, earn perfect scores, and do everything on my own. For practically all of my classes and organizations, this ended up being the case. I studied for hours on end and was the point person for all communications and event logistics. However my obsession for perfection and anxiety over the potential of losing my status caused me to develop social, mental and physical health problems.
What I thought was success at the time is not how I define success now. Academic success should never come at the expense of my health and social well-being. My philosophy of academic and extracurricular success focuses on quality over quantity, and balance above all. Preparing adequately and having confidence in my intelligence and reasoning abilities will help me succeed academically while maintaining sanity. I now try to say yes to non-academic opportunities in which I don’t have a leadership role, even if it cuts into into weekend studying time. This has provided me a mental break and stimulation of another kind. I formed new and deeper relationships and learn life skills. I attended by choice rather than by requirement.
This balance is an art that takes time to develop, but as I become more aware of who I am as a student, friend, and young professional, the better I become at balancing all parts of my life and gaining meaningful knowledge from my coursework, involvement, and peers. This separation from campus was necessary to break the trance I was in and give others a chance to shine. Contrary to my initial beliefs, I seem to learn more as the distance between myself and the work increases. I learn from my younger peers who are now taking the lead. I learn from my own lessons I give as a mentor to these young leaders. And I hope to continue learning from my campus and community as I focus on my personal growth. I can never know where the next learning opportunity will present itself, so I hope to give my all to everyone in the role I am needed, wherever I am.