Simon "SWu" Wu

This quarter has been particularly challenging for me, both socially and academically. Being a student that's still living at home, the boundaries between work and downtime seem incredibly blurred. I've lost a lot of the structure in my life that used to help me compartmentalize and focus on particular tasks, and I think this nebulous scribble that I call my concept of time has really made it hard for me to focus on what comes next. I don’t think anyone could have expected the year that we’ve had so far (as platitudinous of a thing as it is to say), but ironically, I think it’s this very condition of surprise—this very “not knowing what the future holds”—that makes me even MORE unwilling to escape the mundane lull of quarantine life I’ve come to settle in. My insecurity is interfering with my goal setting, my uncertainty is sapping my motivation. I think one thing that surprised me since the start of the quarter is fully recognizing the extent to which quarantine has not only interfered with my academic alacrity, but my drive to pursue social interactions too.

              As much as I need to get on top of my academic routine and study habits, these are things I’ve been working on for a long time. Social procrastination, however, is a new phenomenon for me. I find myself more and more unwilling to turn on my camera during Zoom video calls, more and more wary of reaching out to former high school classmates for quick chats or follow-up calls. More than anything, it’s difficult for me to become comfortable investing in social life when it just doesn’t seem rewarding. Yet, one thing in particularly that I’m grateful for Honors 100 for, is a genuine feeling of social support. I think UW Honors recognizes that this year is incredibly socially challenging for incoming freshman, and attending my Monday group sessions is really a breath of fresh air from some of the other more academically-oriented classes I’ve taken earlier that day. Honors 100 honestly just feels like a mentorship program with our section leader giving us friendly advice on how to navigate through some of college’s tricky terrains. Specifically, the Honors 100 assignments have pushed me to do things that I probably didn’t have the motivation to do this year otherwise; the 4-year plan assignment, which helped reinvigorate my excitement about my college journey and give me some sense of security in the future, or the experiential learning partner assignment, which pushed me to actually look through the RSO directory and led me to discover a variety of clubs that I’m genuinely eager to learn more about (a lettuce eating club? Seriously?).

              I think reflecting on these frustrations have done a world of good in actualizing the problem. My social procrastination has been festering in the back of my head like a parasite, and recently, I’ve been too willing to ignore and pretend it doesn’t exist instead of doing the painful work of pulling it out. More than anything, I think this reflection has created a mechanism by which to hold myself accountable; so even if I’m incredibly unwilling and apathetic about actually trying to address my problems as I’m writing this, I’m nonetheless going to list a few actionable items that I’ll look back on when I write my next reflection:

• Make more connections with my fellow honors classmates – get at LEAST 3 new people’s social media handles

• Join at least ONE study group that meets routinely to keep myself both academically and socially accountable

• Keep in touch with my Honors 100 section leader, Allison Li, and ask her for advice about class registration and other UW-related affairs

• Begin to attend at least ONE office hours session per week – build those connections with professors!

• Reach out and email to at least 3 Professors that do research which interests me

• Join at least ONE RSO that I’m genuinely passionate about and am willing to devote a lot of time to

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