How did I grow this year? I answered this question last year, and want to reflect on it again this year as a means of monitoring my personal growth.
This past school year has been a huge season of change for me. I had my first year of in-person classes, lived on my own for the first time, started research, and formed some of the most meaningful relationships that I'll ever have. Let's start with point number one: in-person classes.
I remember how exhausted I was after the first week of in-person classes. I had never experienced a full schedule of undergraduate in person classes, and even though I was absolutely beat at the end of the week, I was so happy. I was seeing faces that I had only seen on Zoom, going to classes with friends, and interacting face to face once again. It was worth the tiredness. This year, I learned how to balance hobbies, a full courseload of some of the hardest classes I'll ever have to take, and in person extracurriculars. Was it a massive learning curve? Undoubtedly- I underestimated how hard it would be. But, I figured it out, and came out of my second year knowing how to better manage my time and myself as an adult in college.
Point number two: living on my own! I moved into my first-ever apartment, meaning that I had to learn how to keep a home in addition to managing my education. I had to figure out how to properly budget, grocery shop, and clean. It sounds easy on paper, but doing it in conjunction with everything else going on in my life was a struggle. But, I had a blast doing it with my best friends. We made grocery shopping a social outing, going every Sunday to take a break from the fast pace of our academic lives. I found a new love in cooking and baking, and use both as a creative outlet. I mastered my chocolate chip cookie recipe, which turned into a huge part of my stress-management in the last stretch of the semester (if you want the recipe, my email is richmf@mail.uc.edu - I'll give you all my tips and tricks!). Living on my own gave me a newfound independence and confidence in myself that I didn't have before. Now, I'm moving into a house with my best friends, and I feel completely prepared to succeed in this aspect of my personal life.
Point number three: beginning research. To be frank, I began research to check a box for medical school applications. I fully expected to be utterly bored by lab work and stop after one semester, maybe two. Now, I'm staying at UC over the summer to research full time. Needless to say, I caught the bug for research and am pretty attached to my lab. I love the application of hard science to real discovery. I also really enjoy how applicable the information I learn in my class is to what I do in my lab (if you want to find out more about the Seegar lab, check out my Involvements and Interests page). It's anything but monotonous work, and being surrounded by people who love science as much as you do is a great feeling. I'm passionate about my work- what we work on in the lab is readily applicable to medicine and physiology, so it's the perfect mixture of science and medicine.
Point number four, the most important one: my relationships. I could write an encyclopedia on the relationships I formed this semester. My bond with my closest friends is closer than ever- quite honestly, I could write several encyclopedias about how incredible they are. I am the luckiest person in the world to have their friendship. I also met so many of my classmates after finally being in person. This made me love my MedSci community infinitely more. My peers are kind, smart and passionate, exactly the kind of people I want to surround myself with. They value school, but more often than not they value who they are outside of school even more. Some of us became close friends and made a soccer team that we affectionately deemed "Malpractice"- never have I EVER played a game of soccer in my life, but it was so much fun to play with my classmates turned teammates turned friends. I formed mentorship relationships with faculty, and got to know many upperclassmen that continue to give me advice. I'm extremely grateful for all that I gained (and am going to gain) from the bonds that I've formed this year.
I've built resilience through bouncing back after hard days, rough tests, and exhaustion. I find resilience in my network of support of friends and family- there is no doubt that they are my biggest source of strength. I have been resilient in terms of my mental and emotional health, academics, and personal life. I have learned to take care of myself better which gives me more strength to come back stronger in the long run. To hold myself accountable and continue to cultivate resilience, I want to reach out to my mentors and advisors when I have questions or am struggling. I want to be better about taking others' advice to heart. Additionally, I want to make more time for myself to do the things I love like reading, running, and spending time outside.
My second year of undergrad has been the most fruitful of my life; I am starting to grow into the adult version of Maria. It's a strange feeling; I think that I've wondered about what an older version of myself would look like for my entire life, and that picture is starting to form in reality. I'm beginning my adult life- I'm moving out, discovering what I'm passionate about, and making plans for my future after undergrad. I am no longer fresh out of high school wondering what it's like to function on my own. I am twenty, almost twenty-one, and I have a lot of growth left. It's cathartic to tangibly feel the door to adolescence and childhood closing. However, the door to childhood closing can only mean the door to bigger opportunities in adulthood opening, and that is a journey that I am excited to embark on.
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