Reflection
I sat down to write this reflection and realized how long it's been since writing my last one. I've packed so much into the past year, and found so many things to be excited about as I head into my fifth (fifth?!) year of college. I'm coming up on six months since traveling to Iceland...it's hard to believe.
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To be perfectly honest, the beginning of the academic year was rough. I was recovering from mono, which meant getting sick every two weeks as my immune system crawled back out of its grave, so I missed a lot of class -- more than I ever would have in previous semesters. The idea of not being present and needing to catch up stressed me out more than actually doing the work to catch up. It forced me to reevaluate the relationship I have with rest. I've probably said that in other Year in Review reflections, but...maybe it was wishful thinking. Learning to put my health first sometimes meant having hard conversations with the people around me about healthy expectations and boundaries. I think I came out of that semester feeling exhausted, but really, really ready for a change.
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That change came in the form of my co-op! For the first time ever, I secured a job in the first week of the co-op search. I was -- and am! -- so proud of myself. It felt like a huge victory after years of panicked, uncertain job search periods in the wake of pandemic recovery. Come January, I started working as a user experience researcher at the Live Well Collaborative, a non-profit design research consultancy in Clifton. From week 1, I felt like I had already accomplished more than I had in a whole semester of previous co-op experience. I craved dense, longterm projects, autonomy, and a close-knit team to work with. That's what I got! This was the co-op that made me go, "oh, THIS is what I'm meant to do." It made me want to stop school entirely and stay in the office full-time, because I finally felt like my work had a real purpose that would make someone's life better. Leaving was so, so hard, and I wish I could put my team in my pocket to take to all of my future jobs.
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Being part of that team was life-changing for me. Somehow, we just clicked and got to be close friends outside of work. It's been over a month now since our last day of the spring term, and we've gotten together for several happy hours and chat sessions around dinner. I didn't realize I had made so many new friends this year! Now that summer classes have begun, I'm making more of an effort to see the people I love -- I can't just tunnel vision myself into my Capstone project 24/7, no matter how excited I am about it!
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I'm entering fifth year so differently than I entered my fourth. I'm more confident in my design and research abilities, and I know exactly what I want my career in healthcare UX to look like. I'm still making every effort to get to know my city and learn to explore at home (in between making long Google Docs of wishful travel plans!). For now, I'm just enjoying being a college student for a little while longer.