Zachary Tu

Artifact 3

On 4th floor Terry, we play a lot of Avalon. By a lot I mean almost every week. It is a bluffing game where there are good guys and bad guys. And they go on quests to see which side wins. three successful missions, good guys win, three failures, bad guys win. It is a pretty simple game, but a lot of fun, especially with the maximum of ten players. This game was a good icebreaker to meet a bunch of people on the floor, and has strengthened relationships, even if we have to lie to each other for the game.

Assignment #5: Autumn Reflection and Portfolio

My goals and expectations for myself in college were always to try my best to do well, but never take it too seriously. I have seen people burn out on academic work and it is not pretty. I think I kept mostly on track with these goals. Maybe I should try harder to maximize my learning and go to office and hours and such, but I have not felt the need to yet. However, I have not explored as much as I would have wanted to and have not done much reflection on things that have happened over this quarter. I think winter break would be the time for that.

I think what surprised me the most is how easy it has felt to integrate myself into this new format of learning--lecture, quiz, and lab. I thought that it would be quite jarring to be plopped into a new system of learning, but it has been seamless so far. The lack of handholding from professors has been the best part so far because I do not need to be reminded a hundred times to do an assignment. It is either remember to do it, or get a zero on it--which I strangely like.

I found the difficulty level in class would be much higher than it actually is. I talked to some people here and they are dedicating hours and hours of studying, doing tens of practice tests to try to get a good grade in the class, and how hard the tests could be. I do not know if I am just taking easier classes or they are overworking themselves. While I definitely could do better in my classes, from what everyone has told me to expect, I thought that I would get close to failing my classes. However, I have been doing above average for the class, and while I am aiming to be the best, I think that it has been a good start for me--especially with the work ethic I had in high school.

Study Abroad has been at the top of my list to look into further because I am interested in travelling around the world to get a better global perspective. I think that it is hard to form an opinion on a global matter when I have not been a part of that culture and understand all points of view on the matter. In HONORS 100 we spoke about how Honors has its own programs and those seemed pretty interesting.

I recently got into film photography and the photo lab in Gould Hall has been very helpful for me to grow my interest in not just taking photographs now, but developing my own. I find the process to be super interesting because at every step of the process, I get to control everything and it is all physical, no electronics required. The class that uses the photo lab seems pretty interesting, so I exploring more about it would be at the top of the list.

To be completely honest, I do not really hope to achieve anything by the end of my first year. If I can place myself on a steady path into the Astronomy major, and nothing else, I would be satisfied. I know that sounds like an extremely low bar to pass, but I find that my subconscious steers me into positions of great opportunity that I get to decide whether or not to pursue. More often than not, I decide when those moments happen, so I really never plan to do anything more than a few days in advance. Internal happiness is my ultimate goal in life, as long as I am happy with myself and those around me, I have fulfilled the ultimate achievement in my mind. By the end of my time here at UW, I hope that I get into a graduate school that I want, and to have made lasting relationships with people who I want to stay with for the rest of my life. I see my own life a very fluid--extremely little structure--because I want everyday to be new and exciting. If I plan out everyday to a tee, I find that to be boring. Some days, I may decide to do nothing, other days, I may decide to do something crazy. It all depends on how I feel, and what I believe will make me a better person.