Fall Quarter, Winter Break and Quarter

Sunrise - view from my back porch

 As usual, I've been busy with my last year of college! Started this year living off campus in a house only a few blocks from the base of my campus. I live with 2 other housemates who are very quiet and respectful (I barely ever see them) in a large room that overlooks the ocean and downtown. I've had a wonderful time living on my own and learning how to cook. I have definitely gotten a lot more quality sleep and study time now that I'm out of the dorms. 

Nature's playground - 5.7 

Fall quarter started last September. I took two amazing psychology classes: learning and memory and social psych of flim flam (why people believe in silly things). I learned a lot and was offered a great opportunity to work in my professor's memory lab (more on that later). I also worked to create better educational assessments for a program called "Mariposa's Art", designed to allow after-school art classes and teaching opportunities for elementary and high school students. One weekend I headed up to San Francisco to see Richard Dawkins talk about his new book, "The Magic of Reality."

It's fun to be upside-down...

Of course I still find time for myself outside of academics. I went rock climbing outdoors for the first time at Castle Rock - it was way more challenging than in the gym but such a thrill! I would like to do it again sometime. I also got into gymnastics a few nights a week. We have a small club through my school. I was the most inexperienced, but that meant I got a lot of help from all the experts (former competitive gymnasts). It was nice to be around other active people. Unfortunately over this past winter quarter I was too busy to make it to gym, but I would like to get back into it in the spring. I also took a yoga class to balance out all the cardio. 

I am still the secretary of Psi Chi, our psychology honors society on campus. I got to organize a large social event with four other clubs. It was a lot of work, especially since I have no event-planning experience, but it went very well and we had over 50 people in attendance. The event theme was "unity" and we had all the students design posters and discuss ideas for a more united campus. This quarter I had a grad student come in to talk about cognitive psychology research. 

In addition to Psi Chi, I was invited to join Golden Key, another honor's society representing the top 15% of my class. I have been fortunate to have great faculty and peer support at UCSC. I don't want to leave!

I also got a music tattoo on my upper back 

Strolling OB with my friends Erica and Chris

 Winter break was a nice chance for me to catch up with friends in San Diego. I visited my old high school with a friend of mine to watch my former government teacher's annual "holiday song project," in which the students rewrite the words to traditional holiday songs with witty government-themed lyrics. I went out to a very nice dinner at George's with my friend Seth and his roommate to celebrate school accomplishments. We also went to the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista to help run some tests on the athletes. I hadn't visited since I went with our girl scout troop years ago; it was neat to be so close to such talent.

Shell fossils in the desert

Mom, Tony and I went hiking in the Anza Borrego desert. They took me to some wind caves and an old coral reef they had been to a couple times prior. It was a beautiful day out and we were the only ones on the trail. 

For Christmas we had the usual small crowd over to catch up. My friends and I played music while everyone sang carols. Our friends Marion, Joey and Lauren from Arizona were in town and helped us ring in the new year. We saw them again recently for Lauren's synchronized swimming competition in Stanford. She did really well on her solo and with her team from the University of Arizona. We are so proud of her progress!

With my friend Seth and my music teachers Nathan and Anita over break

Studying with friends

This winter I had an awesome schedule. I worked as an instructor's assistant for Intro Psychology, which meant facilitating study sessions, grading papers, preparing activities, and leading a section of about 25 students each week. I already miss all the students - we had a great classroom dynamic by the middle to end of the quarter. I also took my memory professor's senior seminar (writing intensive class as preparation for grad school) on "forgetting." Together we came up with a research question we are working on now. We are looking at metacognition and problem solving. I'm sure I will talk about this more when we are further along with the research process, so I'll leave it at that for now! I worked in his lab with 5 other assistants all of last quarter and got a pretty good idea of how everything works, but I am constantly making little mistakes which help me learn... all part of the process. I am looking forward to continuing this project, which will likely be my senior thesis and a great experience. 

Having fun with cooking

Last fall I discovered our campus's holistic health program. I have always been skeptical of the Western model for healthcare, which tends to focus on fixing problems instead of preventing them through lifestyle changes. This program aims to address the concerns of the whole being - mind, body, spirit, environment. We were recently written about in our school's newspaper (click to read). I have already taken most of the classes offered at night or on weekends, including various massage modalities, acupressure, anatomy, art of joyful living, herbology, optimal nutrition, reflexology, etc. This quarter I worked as a TA for Swedish massage, which meant free professional massages each week and more teaching, my favorite. By the end of the program (hopefully by August I will have my 300 hours completed) I will have a certificate to practice massage in the state. Making a few extra bucks for grad school is just a bonus, I have already learned so much that I have incorporated into my daily lifestyle. I've been making my own healing salve, deodorant, toothpaste, exfoliant scrub, and massage oils as well as fermenting my own food (yogurt, kefir, kombucha, etc.) I have completely cut gluten out of my diet and already notice a huge difference in my mood and energy level. Those that know me well are familiar with my ever-changing food journey. Well, it continues... (yes, I am eating sustainable meat now)

I will be walking with my class in June and graduating by the end of the summer. I am in no rush to finish because I love school! I don't know what my plans are after I get my degree, but I'm thinking more traveling, lab experience, and researching grad schools. I have no doubt that I will continue to be busy loving life and constantly learning! 

My friend Layla and I selling kefir and kombucha one Saturday. Only in Santa Cruz, right?