Assignment 5
Everything seems to pass quickly in college. The first week of the quarter passed, and all of a sudden, the end of the quarter is coming near. Since everything has gone by so quickly, I have not had much time to consider what my goals and expectations has been. Many that I stated at the beginning of the year were extremely vague (i.e. learn new things through courses, continue music and stage crew, understand my classes, etc.) Though I have not been paying attention, some goals have been met.
At the beginning of the year, I worried about not being part of a quartet or a small ensemble. It was an important part of my high school life, and I did not want to lose it. Luckily, I was asked to be part of a quartet about a month ago. As a quartet, we recently participated in the Chamber Music Club's end of quarter recital. Though we have not discussed future pieces, I now have people I know to play quartets with. Now, my hope would be that the quartet continues, and since I will be taking lessons next quarter, that I will practice and play my violin more often. It has been sad to admit that playing violin, which has defined me less than a year ago, is now something I do not make time for. I hope to incorporate it into my routine and schedule so that I may continue to improve and learn. With this comes managing my time much better, which I assume will stay as one of my goals and expectations for the rest of my life.
The courses I am currently taking are different and interesting. In the past, whenever I asked questions on proof of mathematical theorems or formulas, the teacher explained it on the side or referred me to websites. I rarely got detailed proofs of why something worked. Math 134 has been introducing the familiar theorems and adding reasoning and proofs of why they work. Many of the topics are already learned from high school, but now I am not mindlessly solving the problems and searching for the answer; I have better understanding of why. As for the philosophy of space and science course, I am learning a lot of new ideas, but I feel I have not had enough time to absorb all the information. I plan to keep the books and read some of the excerpts over break or in the summer. Goals for myself, academically, have not changed much, as I still would like to understand the topics presented in class. I now hope to take extra time to connect the ideas and build a cumulative knowledge so that the ideas are memorable.
After meeting with advisors and listening to professors and students in panels offered through Honors 100, I have been considering other majors and future possibilities. I have yet to discover the one ideal path I would like to take. The professors from the panel said that they all found their careers by following what they enjoyed doing. After the lecture, as I thought I about what I truly liked, I concluded that I do not know yet. I hope that through the variety of courses offered here at the UW and by continuing to play the violin, that I can figure out what I find myself waking up for. Using the MyPlan helped me figure out what type of courses I would need to take for the next few quarters and informed me which courses I need to take for my current intended major.
The University of Washington is not what I expected it to be, but all the experiences have been a pleasant surprise so far. Though I expected the UW to be a large school, and I still cannot deny that it is a large school, it is much smaller than I expected. I have run into people I know and met people that I see constantly. Also, aside from my chemistry lecture, my classes are small, so the rumors about the dreaded large lectures have not become a reality for me yet. However, I have not had issues with the size of the chemistry class, especially with the smaller quiz sections provided, therefore, I feel this poor expectation of class size will not be satisfied. I have also felt challenged with my courses, especially with balancing my time. The halls is a great place for me to get to know others and find a balance between the social life and studying. It is odd transitioning into a life where the two are in the same environment; however, I am slowly figuring out how to make the two separate again. Since the UW is a large school, I expected many opportunities to be available, and thus far, I am most glad I am here because of them. With the other colleges I could have attended, I would not have been able to continue violin and play in the symphony. Even with this, I am grateful. However, the honors college has allowed me to have access to the smaller classes within this large university. The Honors 100 course has given some advice on what to do in the future.
It would be ambitious for me to say that I want to have my future figured out by the end of this year. Instead, I hope that I have a better idea of what I would like to do and that I will find majors that satisfy my interest. I would like to have found ways to manage my time better and balance the activities. Another goal is to become a part of a research lab on campus. Quantitative goals for the end of the year would be to learn a movement of a concerto, and possibly a Bach sonata or partita, and get good grades my classes. By the end of the first year, I plan to apply to the major(s) I am interested. By the end of my time at the UW, I hope that I know what my interests are. I hope that I have continued to play violin all throughout the four years, that it is still a part of my life. As time passes and I learn to balance everything, I would like to join clubs, tutor, and get involved in research.
At the beginning of the year, I worried about not being part of a quartet or a small ensemble. It was an important part of my high school life, and I did not want to lose it. Luckily, I was asked to be part of a quartet about a month ago. As a quartet, we recently participated in the Chamber Music Club's end of quarter recital. Though we have not discussed future pieces, I now have people I know to play quartets with. Now, my hope would be that the quartet continues, and since I will be taking lessons next quarter, that I will practice and play my violin more often. It has been sad to admit that playing violin, which has defined me less than a year ago, is now something I do not make time for. I hope to incorporate it into my routine and schedule so that I may continue to improve and learn. With this comes managing my time much better, which I assume will stay as one of my goals and expectations for the rest of my life.
The courses I am currently taking are different and interesting. In the past, whenever I asked questions on proof of mathematical theorems or formulas, the teacher explained it on the side or referred me to websites. I rarely got detailed proofs of why something worked. Math 134 has been introducing the familiar theorems and adding reasoning and proofs of why they work. Many of the topics are already learned from high school, but now I am not mindlessly solving the problems and searching for the answer; I have better understanding of why. As for the philosophy of space and science course, I am learning a lot of new ideas, but I feel I have not had enough time to absorb all the information. I plan to keep the books and read some of the excerpts over break or in the summer. Goals for myself, academically, have not changed much, as I still would like to understand the topics presented in class. I now hope to take extra time to connect the ideas and build a cumulative knowledge so that the ideas are memorable.
After meeting with advisors and listening to professors and students in panels offered through Honors 100, I have been considering other majors and future possibilities. I have yet to discover the one ideal path I would like to take. The professors from the panel said that they all found their careers by following what they enjoyed doing. After the lecture, as I thought I about what I truly liked, I concluded that I do not know yet. I hope that through the variety of courses offered here at the UW and by continuing to play the violin, that I can figure out what I find myself waking up for. Using the MyPlan helped me figure out what type of courses I would need to take for the next few quarters and informed me which courses I need to take for my current intended major.
The University of Washington is not what I expected it to be, but all the experiences have been a pleasant surprise so far. Though I expected the UW to be a large school, and I still cannot deny that it is a large school, it is much smaller than I expected. I have run into people I know and met people that I see constantly. Also, aside from my chemistry lecture, my classes are small, so the rumors about the dreaded large lectures have not become a reality for me yet. However, I have not had issues with the size of the chemistry class, especially with the smaller quiz sections provided, therefore, I feel this poor expectation of class size will not be satisfied. I have also felt challenged with my courses, especially with balancing my time. The halls is a great place for me to get to know others and find a balance between the social life and studying. It is odd transitioning into a life where the two are in the same environment; however, I am slowly figuring out how to make the two separate again. Since the UW is a large school, I expected many opportunities to be available, and thus far, I am most glad I am here because of them. With the other colleges I could have attended, I would not have been able to continue violin and play in the symphony. Even with this, I am grateful. However, the honors college has allowed me to have access to the smaller classes within this large university. The Honors 100 course has given some advice on what to do in the future.
It would be ambitious for me to say that I want to have my future figured out by the end of this year. Instead, I hope that I have a better idea of what I would like to do and that I will find majors that satisfy my interest. I would like to have found ways to manage my time better and balance the activities. Another goal is to become a part of a research lab on campus. Quantitative goals for the end of the year would be to learn a movement of a concerto, and possibly a Bach sonata or partita, and get good grades my classes. By the end of the first year, I plan to apply to the major(s) I am interested. By the end of my time at the UW, I hope that I know what my interests are. I hope that I have continued to play violin all throughout the four years, that it is still a part of my life. As time passes and I learn to balance everything, I would like to join clubs, tutor, and get involved in research.