Halfway through the halfway mark

As summer rolled to an end and classes began again, the busyness of life hit me once again. Sophomore year rolled around before I knew it and the first semester flew by. I never really believed people when they told me that college flies by quickly, but it's kind of scary how it does. This semester was probably the most challenging for me as a pre-med student, but I had to keep reminding myself that all of this hard work will eventually pay off. I've been blessed with two wonderful and supporting parents and amazing friends that I know will always be there for me. 

According to my RE for my FRI lab, sophomore year will probably be the most difficult year of college.It's the year where we realize that maybe our major isn't right for us, our future plans aren't really what we want anymore and where our studying habits really get tested. We don't rely on prior knowledge from high school like we did in our intro classes from freshman year since we're all faced with fairly new material. I think this semester was especially challenging because it was my first semester taking upper division courses/ pre-med requirements (Organic Chemistry and Genetics yay!) ​My classes for this past semester were completely all science classes which was different from what I had my freshman year. To some people, a semester of two labs and nothing but science courses sounds like a nightmare... but not for me. I didn't mind learning through the material because it's what I want to do and I couldn't imagine doing anything else. Yeah maybe my science classes don't come as easily to me unlike others, but it's alright because I'll just continue to work hard and trust God that His plans for me are far greater than I've imagined. ​

Mockingjay Part 2 watch party

The fam reunited after a whole semester

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I've definitely grown in my relationships with other people, my family, and God. As cliche as it sounds, I found out who will make time for me and be there despite the busyness of their own schedule as well. I definitely had the chance to sort out who was an acquaintance and a close friend by the part they played in my life this semester. It's just sad when the friends I was close to my freshman year aren't around as often anymore, but hey that's life. Now that I'm getting older, I've become a lot closer with my parents and I know they're always there to check up on me. They are my support system they keep me grounded. I had to really let go of the plans I had for myself and really give it up to God, which again is easier said than done. Through the stress of school and being sick for the first two months, I had to remind myself that although things are not going as exactly as what I had planned in my head that God is always good and in control. 
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Yay for new friends

Peter Pan Golf with the crew

FSA Fam!

As far as clubs and organizations go, I stayed in the same ones I joined last year, but I joined two more! I joined FSA (Filipino Student Association) and Texas Public Health! I met really awesome and wonderful people through both groups and even had the chance to become a part of a family (shoutout to Ate Alan and Kuya Josef and the fam)! Texas Public Health really opened my eyes to the field of public health since I switched majors and although it was a lot of work, I really enjoyed myself. Oh right, I changed majors btw and I love it. I love seeing healthcare as a whole system instead of focusing on just the molecular and details behind the scenes. 

So this semester I lived in my first apartment with three friends!! I even had my car this semester so guess who learned how to drive in Austin?! Living in an apartment has definitely made me feel like I was more "grown up" because I had the chance to cook for myself. It was a nice break from the UT atmosphere, which was always a plus coming home to a queen sized bed instead of the little bitty dorm I called my room last year! I also had the privilege of living with three smart and hardworking friends that loved to cook! I had a chance to eat Vietnamese, Nepalese, and Mexican food this semester thanks to my roomies (shoutout to Tina, Manshaya, and Emily!) It was also great having the same classes as my roomies because we were all in that same struggle with classes and we helped each other study. What I enjoyed the most though? Definitely roomie dinners where we would just eat good food, talked about life, and social media stalked our favorite people. Hahaha. Did I mention that we did Secret Santa? (It didn't really work out because I can't keep a secret so everyone knew who their Santa was, I apologize.) 

As far as exploring Austin, I had a chance to go to the Austin City Limits festival! I only had a weekend one day pass on a Sunday so I only got to see Halsey, Vance Joy and The Weeknd! It was still really fun and a definitely great experience! They all sounded amazing live and I only fangirled a little bit. (; It was also a plus that these guys put my friends and I on their shoulders during The Weeknd's performance. Perks of being under 5'4 right?! I also had the chance to do lots of Christmas-y things once finals were over. The light show at Mozart's was really cute and the hot chocolate was sooo good and Trail of Lights was definitely a fun experience. It was a lot of fun getting to go with friends after finals were over!

Well those were the highlights of the first half of my sophomore year, thanks for reading! 

-Nicole 
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ACL with Geetha and Manshaya

Cirque de Soleil with Tina

Peacoat club with the roomies

Hook Em at Trail of Lights!