After four term papers, three exams, two observational finals, and one project/presentation… My fall quarter is over. And let me just say, my junior year has already been quite the wild ride.
If you remember, I started the quarter off early here for Week of Welcome orientation program and I got to be a Cross Cultural Experience WOW leader for the first time. I got the privilege of having 16 Wowies (first years) to fill the week up with and I love every single one of them, truly they are incredible.
From there, the people just kept adding up in my life as I joined focus groups and picked up in PCE (Pilipino Cultural Exchange) so now I have two adings under me in my family. Those two also make up one highlight of my quarter. I also convinced Nick to join PCE and trust me when I say I’m pretty excited about it.
Photo by Jed Villejo on Unsplash
If you’ve been following me since last year, then you’ll remember that I also took part in PCW or Polycultural Weekend back in April right before the blackface incidents and I had two hostees— one of them did commit to Cal Poly and I love running into her on campus as one of the many people I care about here in SLO.
And on top of those, I submitted a piece to OWN (original women’s narratives) again that will be performed in the show but not by me, because I am also going to be a part of WOW again, but this time as a CCE Special Teams FAC leader. So that’s exciting… I have no idea what to expect or even if I can handle it, but that seems to be the theme of junior year so far.
Now, beyond the people I’ve added to my life, this has also been my first year starting off as an English major so I was in all english classes this quarter. I have never done so much reading that I didn’t actually want to do in my whole life. Remind me to never take all english classes again; even while some of it was really interesting and good for me, I’m so burnt out.
Maybe that has to do with all the things I’ve been up to because I finally officially finished that novel and started on a new one, I’ve written more articles for Her Campus (check out the latest one here), my essay writing has improved at least a little, I decided on a technical and professional communications minor/certificate and a concentration in creative writing, I still work at the University Store and now I’m a tutor at the Writing center as well, I learned how to take the high road (reluctantly), and I’ve learned just a little more about myself along the way.
You could say that I’ve had a busy quarter. And well… Next quarter is going to be busier.
It’s college after all, probably not the best 4-6 years of our lives, but definitely one of the few times you can come home from a party to turn in a term paper at 1:30 in the morning or drive two minutes down the street to meet up with all your friends just to cook together.
Photo by Yeshi Kangrang on Unsplash
So for now, I’m going to enjoy the fact that it’s my winter break and I can finally catch up on reading and writing what I want. And I’m not going to check my grades obsessively because there’s nothing I can do about it now. I’m just happy to have another crazy quarter under my belt and to see some time to sleep waiting for me these next three weeks.
Here’s to a beautiful Friday and I hope you’re all doing well. If anyone is still chugging through finals, check out that Her Campus like above, it’ll help you through it.
Good luck and I’ll see you next week. Have a great weekend.
For some people, self-care might look like studying and working until it’s all done and that’s one less thing to worry about. For other people, it might look like spending a little extra time around the people who matter to you. After all, they say misery loves company but in reality, all of us need 
With one final left to go, I am one 3 hour test away from the halfway point of my undergrad career. And I am so ready for summer. 
But the goal this year was to become a larger part of the school than I was before and remind myself of why I chose Cal Poly over Howard University. There are a lot of things this year that have made me doubt myself and my choices, my value and place here at this school, but there are a few that have also managed to reaffirm me at the same time. 
Welcome to week 10 of my quarter, where I have four essays and three final exams to go within the next week— and that’s just academically. So today I’m going to keep it short. 
Did you know that there’s a song called 
Even while burnout is more common over the course of a year, it’s also possible in a day— on a smaller scale, but still. A lot of us have a tendency to go full speed ahead all the time, forgetting that even while we may not have completely finished a task, it’s six hours later and we haven’t taken a single break. Just to keep yourself sane, remember to take breaks whether they’re for a snack, a shower, a walk, etc. Make a little time for what is important.
Stop for a second. Whether you’ve been going all day or just really need to grind, a lot of times I know I forget that air is supposed to be moving in and out of my lungs in the process. But just like food, oxygen is necessary to keep going and good for the soul. Remember to take a step back a breathe for a moment. Then it’s back to work.