My first quarter at University

To kick off the new direction of the blog, I wanted to take some time and talk about college life. I currently attend the University of California, Los Angeles, Better know as UCLA. As a 4th year, there is so much I could say about my time in college. So rather than compacting it all into a post, I am going to split it up, and write about it later.

I transfered Fall of 2013 from a community college in San Francisco. It was a huge shock to move 400 miles away to Los Angeles. I was accepted to a few other campuses, but the combination of the prestige of the campus and the chance to move to Los Angeles sold me on UCLA.

Adujsting wasn't the easiest thing. I dormed my first year here. Dorming wasn't terrible, but I found myself to be homesick and lonely sometimes. You make friends fairly quickly, but its hard to be away from all of your friends and family. One of the biggest adjustments I had to make was the quarter system. While many schools are on a 17 week semester, most UCs are on the quarter system, which is 10 weeks of classes until finals week. I quickly realized how much harder it was to adjust to such a quick pace. It wasn't the rigor of the classes, just the speed that got to me. I was used to many assignments and larger reading loads, but sometimes, it felt so much harder than I ever expected it to be. I ofter was envious of the other students who had a grasp of the system and hardly ever came to class and managed to do better than me. It was like working twice as hard to do half as well.

But it worked out. I eventually managed to get the way classes worked and how to navigate through hundreds of pages of readings and multiple assignments due in one week, and still have time to go to the football games or have time to hang out with friends. I eventally would create a network of friends that kept me from feeling homesick and sad. And sadly, I would put on a lot of weight from all of the delicious dorm food they served. It all seems like fond memories as I am now in my second to last quarter here. I don't regret choosing UCLA, and I absolutely love the beautiful campus and amazing people I have met. Don't let the admissions statistics scare you off. Many of us have felt over our time here at UCLA that we were not worthy to be here and they must have made a mistake admitting us. But once you get over the intial culture shock, its one of the most amazing and incredible places to recieve your college education.


xx, Lexy