I am UIC | UIC student blogs

I am utterly amazed at myself this past semester. There are so many wonderful experiences that have contributed to my learning and it really paid off! Sure, I had to move my MCAT a few times so that I could bring my grades back up from the shock of doing so poorly on exams in the beginning, but I am so glad I did because I managed to get straight As this semester! I haven’t attained that since my freshman year first semester…and here I was freaking out about my grades (good thing too…made me study a LOT).

I hope everyone got grades they didn’t expect (in a good way). The studying and working hard doesn’t stop here, or ever, though. I’ve been spending every single day working in the lab during the morning and working at my graphics/web design job at housing in the afternoon. It’s been wonderful working there again and I’ve had lots of projects to do (for example: RoomSync). I’ve also been studying for the MCAT (doing the retake of Kaplan for free via online materials so that I can keep a schedule going). It’s been pretty difficult to keep up with because the class is every day and there’s so many assignments! I’ve done all of it thoroughly the first time, so right now it’s a matter of targeting where I need to work on the most (weaknesses), then continue to strengthen my current strengths.

There’s also been a lot to do for my pre-medical organization. As the newly elected organization’s leader, I want to make sure EVERYTHING goes smoothly. I’m planning on working with the VP to get a calendar of dates, places, times all figured out and ready to go now so when fall rolls around and classes start to take up most of our time – we’ll be ready!

And finally…I’ve got to get working on my medical school application. For a long time I’ve been debating whether to apply this year, but after doing so well this semester I feel so much more confident! All I have to do is rock the MCAT and I’ll be golden. :D I’m going to see a pre-health advisor at LAS tomorrow about my final selection of courses and some other matters…and I need to turn in my personal statement to them too before I send my application in.

Not sure if I want to do the Fulbright application, but something tells me I probably will because I can! You never know what will happen UIC, so always give it your best shot – no matter what you do.

Sorry for no pictures, btw. Absolutely no time to take pretty pictures (and I’m also scared that when I take a picture people think I’m stalking them, haha). I’ll try to take more pictures in my next blog post. =) Lots of beautiful moments to capture!

A previous blog post of mine was “What grinds my gears.”  This post is devoted to things I don’t really care for…but that I’m trying not to get me down or irritated, a constant battle I’m sure with most people.

20. When I’m so tired but cannot sleep. Pretty much every night.

19. I can’t have a pet where I live.  My landlord (mom) says no.

18. A ton of open treadmills but the smelly guy picks the one next to me. Really? I can’t stand being on the treadmill anyways…and you have to make it worse?

17. Work days go so slow, days off fly by. I just need a vacation.

16. Being cold. Especially when you get goosebumps after you just shaved your legs.  Girls will understand.

15. Paying for parking. Actually, it’s more like paying a small fortune to park for a very short amount of time.

14. Being late. I get anxiety.

13. Sometimes don’t feel appreciated at work. I know they have a lot going on, but every day I go above and beyond for them.

12. Mosquito bites. I have no self control and cannot NOT scratch them when they itch.

11. Rude customers. They take everything out on the employee.

10. The Kardashians. Period.

9. Slow drivers. I always get stuck behind them.

8. Fast drivers. Where are the cops when you need them?

7. People who don’t use their turn signal. That is what it’s there for!!

6. Lebron James. He is just so pompous.

5. NBA refs. They are just sooooo bad.

4. Loud neighbors leaving for work at 4:30 am. Do they have to slam their car doors 80 times before they leave?

3. When I change Sam’s diaper….then he immediately poops.

2. Never knowing when bossman will let me go for the day. It’s a constant staring contest with the clock.

And….

1. I can’t handle my ears being touched because of an episode of “Untold Stories of the ER” that scarred me probably for life (which my boyfriend LOVES to tease me about).

The sad part is, I can probably go on. But I won’t. What’s on your list?

Stay tuned for next week…”Things I love!”

It’s officially summer!  All the papers are in!  The nerve-wrecking presentation went better than expected, and you fell a rush of relief after you finished that last exam.  For many UIC students, this is just another summer.  Most will be working in the city or suburbs to make some extra cash or working at a cool internship to gain experience in the field.  

For others, this is a very exciting time.  They recently found out that they have been accepted into UIC as well as other schools.  As these students make a big decision about where to spend the next four years of their life, I present to them the Top 10 best things about UIC.

10. Tropical Smoothie.  Have you tried the Kiwi Quencher?  If not, it will change your life.

9.   Au Bon Pain.  Need I say more?

8. The football team.  We’re undefeated!  I think that’s saying something ;-)

7. It’s famous!  Did you know “Stranger Than Fiction” and “Candyman” were filmed at UIC?

6. Campus Housing.  Campus Housing was great to me for four years.  There are many different styles of living and types of communities.  Whatever your needs are, UIC Campus Housing probably has the style of living you need.

5. It’s always evolving. UIC is never stagnant and constantly keeps up with the times in order to serve the next generation of the UIC community.  Last week I talked a lot about how UIC has changed since I was a freshman back in 2007.  Although UIC is not the same place it was in 2007, all of the changes I can think of have done nothing but enhance UIC.

4. The resources.  Because UIC is such a diverse campus, there are many resources that can help all students, as well as teach the rest of the UIC community about culture.

3. The opportunities.  I have been employed all over campus.  Campus Housing, Building Management and Campus Recreation have been great employment opportunities for me.  I have learned valuable skills that I can take to the workplace. I’ve been a part of organizations that have been accommodating and sympathetic that I was a student.

2. The city.  Being in the city was an important part of my decision to come to UIC.  I love that I can take what I have learned in the classroom out into the city and vice versa. I am constantly learning and engaging in discourse.

1.  The community.  I spent four years of my UIC career living on campus.  I met people from all walks of life who were nothing but kind and engaging.  When I moved off campus two years ago, I was nervous about how much I would be able to engage with the UIC community.  I found the change different, but I still found it easy to engage with people.  The people in my cohort became very close.  I enjoyed movie nights and crazy conversations during the bus ride home.  Because I do not have any family in the Chicago area, my cohort became my pseudo-family.

Hello UIC!

It feels so nice to finally be done with the semester! The spring semester always flies by quicker than fall semester. I hope finals went well for everyone. I wish I had spaced out my timing for studying better. I had five finals to take all in a three-day span. Finals week is always the worst week of the semester. We are forced to fill in all the semester’s learning for one test in each of your classes. It’s just so insane!

This summer is going to be pretty productive for me. I’m going to be studying for the MCATs, working out and working on research at the College of Medicine. I am considering taking a class at UIC, but haven’t decided which class yet. I also thought about deactivating my Facebook since it’s easy to get distracted on there. But I figured I might as well learn a little self control and delete the app off my phone and not stay logged in on my laptop.

I hope everyone’s summer will be filled with fun festivities, and please stay safe!

Finals week was intense, but luckily I was fortunate enough to take one exam a day and not all at once (good and bad). For those who know me well, you probably understand that when I am presented with a chunk of time, I spend it with meetings and volunteering or work. Why? I’m psycho/insane/crazy (undiagnosed, of course). Perhaps I could be using my time “more effectively” by studying the whole time and trying to memorize every bit of detail (because professors love to make exams with a bunch of nitty gritty details), but I always feel inclined to take on new obligations that will help out others.

I can’t understand it.

So, here’s the thing: I can’t feel alive or feel any worth when I study. Sometimes I feel like grades are silly because it makes people go crazy with trying to sabotage others and hoping other people do worse than they did. It’s almost like we wish others had a disease and we’re the lucky ones (hopefully). This thinking is pathological, I believe. It’s no wonder people are so happy to graduate. They can say, “I SURVIVED” or “I MADE IT!”

I’m trying to think of other phrases to use to articulate what I’d want to hear being said, but then I contradict my thinking with understanding the successes that go along with “surviving college.” I sure hope surviving college = surviving the real world, haha!

Anyway, not sure how I did this semester yet, but I’m pretty nervous. I can only hope for the best, but sometimes I think I was not at my best when I took the exams because I was preoccupied with free time that was immediately filled up by requests. I need to start blocking out times that say “Milie Time” and a side note that reads: *This block of time is exclusively for Milie to study and she will enjoy the whole process of learning with pretty pictures and equations.*

I should probably just make that M-F 8 a.m.-5 p.m. each day to actually improve my grades. Well, in the future! Grades aren’t everything, so for those who may have procrastinated (we all do) and ended up where you expected or did not expect…no worries. =)

Yesterday was Mother’s Day.  When I was brainstorming about what to write for this week’s blog, it dawned on me that I have so many strong women in my life to look up to.

My grandmother, Irene, is one of the best grandmothers you can have.  She is so loving and caring, especially with her grandchildren.  She always lets me know how proud she is of me and my accomplishments, saying “Gosh! You’re so smart and you work so hard.”  At family gatherings, she cooks her butt off while everyone tries to tell her to sit down and relax.  When I have time, I try to go and visit her and my grandfather as much as I can.  School and work easily get in the way of that.  It’s another reason I am so happy school is over.  Every time you do something nice for her, she gets emotional and starts crying like it’s unnecessary.  It is totally necessary.  She has been such an amazing grandmother and deserves to be pampered like it. Love you, Grandma!

Another woman who has been a constant source of support is my boyfriend’s mom, Kirsten.  When I started dating her son almost three years ago, she immediately made me feel like part of the family.  She does absolutely everything she can for her kids.  She is someone I can go to for advice and confide in about anything.  I truly look forward to spending time with her.  Not many people can say that about their significant other’s mothers.  I would be very lucky to call her mom one day.  Love you, Mrs. H!

Last but certainly not least, my mom, Sandy.  She is the most influential, important person in my life.  She works harder than anyone I know and she would do anything for my brothers and I.  Life has thrown some hard times at our family, but my mom is our rock and the glue that holds us together.  She is passionate about the environment, loves rock music, wants to put blue streaks in her hair, and while she is my best friend, she will ALWAYS remind me that she’s my mom, I’m her kid and she is always right.  I honestly don’t know what I would do without her.  She has raised me to be a strong, confident woman and I am so proud that I’m her daughter.  It’s the best feeling in the world when you make her laugh and after a long day at work, she’ll have the bottle of wine ready.  I love you, mom! Thank you for being the best mom in the entire world.

That picture is at the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert.  She is a rock star!

Here’s a shout out to the other mothers in my life:

Christina D. M., Emily S., Lisa M., Molly L., Tracy E., Debbie C., Tana D., Theresa G., Maggie M., Marylin T., Donna B., Janice P., Tiffany P.T., Christina P.B., Jen M.M., Arlene B., Lizzette V.T., Maria C., Abby C.

Happy Mother’s Day, ladies!!!!

I cannot believe I reached the end.  Today is the last time I will be in a UIC classroom.  I received an e-mail yesterday from the Gender and Women’s studies department that I can pick up my concentration certificate.  Eventually, I will receive that large envelope in the mail that will contain my diploma.

When I finished my undergraduate program, I was not exactly ready to venture out into the real world.  However, my graduate program experience has been very different.  As I did some light reading in the quad, it was very obvious to me that I am the old timer.  There is an entirely new generation of the UIC community on campus.  They were not here when Lincoln and Douglas halls were older looking buildings.  They were not here pre-Dunkin’ Donuts and Tropical Smoothie.  They were not here when UIC closed its doors due to the snowapocalypse of 2011.  I was here for all of that.

My generation of UIC has since moved on to various graduate schools across the country and new places of employment.  I am ready to join the ranks of my generation and leave UIC.  UIC will always have a special place in my heart, but now it is time to take everything I have learned at UIC in and out of the classroom and apply it to the world.

The truth is I have been in Chicago for six years, the longest I have spent in any one location. There were times when I was frustrated and felt as if I would not make it. I was ready to move back to D.C., Georgia, or Hawaii.  But I am glad I stayed determined and kept going.  Now I excited to enter the next phase in my life.  I not sure what it will be yet, but I do know a marathon is in my future.  ;-)

Hello UIC!

We are almost done with this semester! It’s really scary to think how much time flies by in college. We find ourselves so immersed in in our lives that we tend to forget that each moment we spend is so precious. I think college helped me realize how important time management is.

Apart from that, learning to become a critical thinker is probably one of the most important things to master after receiving a bachelor’s degree. It’s imperative to understand why people think the way they do and why people say the things they say. I think after taking an anthropology course, I learned how important it is to understand why people think the way they do and why they behave the way they do. Although I needed this anthropology course in order to complete one of my last gen ed classes, I learned more than I expected.

I hope everyone studies hard for their final exams! Summer is almost here! Push through this last week of the semester!

It’s here! The home stretch. The end of the semester! Of course, I am recouping after a week of papers and final assignments, and preparing for this week full of finals. But the end is near…I can almost taste it.

It sounds extremely cliché, but this academic year has truly gone by fast and was super hard. I don’t think I’ve ever been as challenged as I was this year, which is understandable considering I’m ending my junior year. Everything just seemed to come hard and fast at me – so much that when I think about this year everything just blends together, making it seem like one big semester. I still feel like I am just finishing up my fall semester!

Nevertheless, I’ve had a great year, especially this semester. I think I finally learned time management and good study skills! I did very well in my studies and have sincerely learned a lot.

On a personal level, I’ve had some great opportunities at my current internship at Clear Channel. I’ve really developed a good sense of business and had a lot of fun working in the promotions department. I will surely miss it when I end my term this semester.

I’m also in the midst of wrapping up my two-year term as the vice president of the Undergraduate Student Government. I’ve learned a great deal about managing and running an organization in my position and have been able to learn a great deal about the university. This week, I end my term and will become a member of the assembly. Although I will not have the same title, I will still be a big student advocate next year.

As I’m writing this, I’m now thinking about my three final exams…eek. I must go.
Thank you to everyone who has been reading my blog throughout the year! I will update once a month during the summer, so keep checking back the blogs here.
Good luck with exams :)

Until next time…
Mike