Ethan Hokenstad

Honors Assignment 6: Reflection

Over Autumn quarter I’ve definitely become more laid-back. For a large part of high
school, I was a perfectionist and would obsess over grades, at the cost of extracurricular
activities and generally everything else not related to academics. While I still put a lot of
emphasis on my grades, I’m pulling back a bit in favor of a more well-rounded approach. Of
course, a well-rounded approach is a hard feat to pull off under COVID-19, but I’m working on
it. My course load Autumn quarter was pretty heavy, so I refrained from joining extracurriculars.
In Winter quarter, however, I’m only taking 13 credits, so I have the time to do more outside of
my classes. I’ve applied to be a TA for CSE 14x, and I plan on joining an RSO or two at the start
of Winter quarter. Things are looking up.
I was pleasantly surprised this quarter by how productive I was, as my ‘quarantine break’
was entirely unproductive. I spent more time than I’m willing to admit in front of screens, and
my sleep schedule practically flipped from the rest of society. Throughout the Summer, I was
told that I needed to get back to what I would call ‘normal life,’ i.e., going to sleep before 10
A.M. I never really did, continually thinking “I’ll manage.” I don’t know how much I really
believed that, but it worked out. After move-in, I was consistently ahead in all of my classes, and
actually slept at night. Unfortunately, my sleep habits are starting to revert to what they were
over the Summer, so I guess I’ll have to manage over Winter break.
UW is obviously very different right now from what it usually is, but campus is the same.
Before coming, I was told many times about just how big UW’s campus is, but it’s different in
person. I had this idea that because of how big UW and its campus is, I wouldn’t have the same
personal connection that other people would to their college. I’d be going here, but it wouldn’t be
my college. That hasn’t held up as true. Nearly every week, I’ve walked 20 minutes each way
from my dorm to the tennis courts, and there’s a sense of interconnectedness. Recently, I went
for a walk around campus at three in the morning (part of my bad sleep habits) just because.
Despite the lack of people most places on campus, it still has that feeling to it.
Unfortunately, as everything is online, Honors 100 isn’t as impactful this year. Quite
frankly, I don’t think it had that great of an impact on me. In my opinion, a large part of the
Honors 100 experience is meeting and getting to know the people in your section, as everyone
has the same kind of drive and perseverance. However, as classes were all online, I don’t think I
got to know that many people, from any of my classes. Looking back, I can’t think of a time I
interacted outside of class with anyone from my classes, other than as required for assignments
and projects. The standout for me when it comes to Honors 100 was exploring experiential
learning activities. All of the experiential learning categories are really interesting to me, and I’m
looking forward to participating in larger activities, so looking at all the different opportunities
was exciting and reassuring.
By the end of my first year, I really hope that I’ve established my place, so to speak.
Given the unusual circumstances, no one’s college experience is particularly standard.
Academics are being emphasized over social aspects, just by the virtue of convenience.
Additionally, as an engineering undeclared student, I have until the end of the year to figure out
what engineering department I want to go into, and as of now, I have no inkling of an idea. My
current Winter and Spring schedule plan is designed so that I maximize the engineering
placement requirements for every department, so that once I figure out what I want to study, I
won’t be limited by not knowing earlier. I really don’t like not really knowing what my major
will be. Despite being at UW for two months now, to the day, it doesn’t feel permanent. Once I
get that taken care of, I’ll start worrying about the next three years.
Word Count: 722