My year-in-review is a response to the following prompt:
"In what way(s) did you personally grow this year? How did you demonstrate or rebuild the resilience needed to move forward during this time? How will you utilize resources and your support network to hold yourself accountable in continuing this growth?"
I was really glad I saw this prompt on the UHP website, and I knew I wanted to respond to it right away. It has been a disappointing year, that has often felt monotonous and stagnant, and I thought it would be interesting look back on my year and search for growth. Last year in my reflection I talked about how I liked being busy all the time and was really starting to embrace that. This year has been the opposite. I've spent a lot of time trying to enjoy each day. Like 49ers' coach Kyle Shanahan said a couple of days ago, "I can’t guarantee that anybody in the world will be alive Sunday". While this is a super creepy thing to say it, I realized that if I'm constantly looking to the future for happiness and purpose I'll end up wasting the time I have now. Another avenue of growth I've been pursuing is learning discipline instead of relying on motivation. The pandemic essentially killed motivation for so many reasons. Not having a schedule gave me no reason to get up early or work out. Why go to another zoom meeting? Lately, I've been able to rock climb, run, or read for fun, or get up early to do something new. I've found that even on those days where it doesn't seem so fun, I've been able to accomplish what I want to, and feel good about myself.
The fall semester went well for me on paper. I got grades I was proud of, and found the content of my major really interesting. I also spoke with my department head about utilizing the ACCEND program for graduate school and begin to map that out. I became friends with my new neighbors when they put a sign up on their window after seeing my sitting outside. Having a small group of friends (two "households") to hang out with during this time while still minimizing risk has been really helpful. I was unable to find a co-op for the Spring, and am currently searching for the fall. This continuous (nine months and counting) job search has been really stressful and deflating. I've been rejected countless times, I've put in lots of time on cover letters to never hear from the company I sent it to, and I have nothing to show for it. I think this prolonged "pandemic" of a job search has helped me grow just as much as it's held me down. I've learned to not let whether or not a company responds affect my mental health or attitude. I think I have done a pretty good job holding myself accountable for growth, but I know I have a great support network of friends and colleagues who genuinely want to see me succeed, and that helps even more.
"In what way(s) did you personally grow this year? How did you demonstrate or rebuild the resilience needed to move forward during this time? How will you utilize resources and your support network to hold yourself accountable in continuing this growth?"
I was really glad I saw this prompt on the UHP website, and I knew I wanted to respond to it right away. It has been a disappointing year, that has often felt monotonous and stagnant, and I thought it would be interesting look back on my year and search for growth. Last year in my reflection I talked about how I liked being busy all the time and was really starting to embrace that. This year has been the opposite. I've spent a lot of time trying to enjoy each day. Like 49ers' coach Kyle Shanahan said a couple of days ago, "I can’t guarantee that anybody in the world will be alive Sunday". While this is a super creepy thing to say it, I realized that if I'm constantly looking to the future for happiness and purpose I'll end up wasting the time I have now. Another avenue of growth I've been pursuing is learning discipline instead of relying on motivation. The pandemic essentially killed motivation for so many reasons. Not having a schedule gave me no reason to get up early or work out. Why go to another zoom meeting? Lately, I've been able to rock climb, run, or read for fun, or get up early to do something new. I've found that even on those days where it doesn't seem so fun, I've been able to accomplish what I want to, and feel good about myself.
The fall semester went well for me on paper. I got grades I was proud of, and found the content of my major really interesting. I also spoke with my department head about utilizing the ACCEND program for graduate school and begin to map that out. I became friends with my new neighbors when they put a sign up on their window after seeing my sitting outside. Having a small group of friends (two "households") to hang out with during this time while still minimizing risk has been really helpful. I was unable to find a co-op for the Spring, and am currently searching for the fall. This continuous (nine months and counting) job search has been really stressful and deflating. I've been rejected countless times, I've put in lots of time on cover letters to never hear from the company I sent it to, and I have nothing to show for it. I think this prolonged "pandemic" of a job search has helped me grow just as much as it's held me down. I've learned to not let whether or not a company responds affect my mental health or attitude. I think I have done a pretty good job holding myself accountable for growth, but I know I have a great support network of friends and colleagues who genuinely want to see me succeed, and that helps even more.