Kirsten Linnabary's Portfolio

Year in Review

 

               The most significant challenge that I overcame this year was the time crunch that I had

during most of spring semester. I was doing about 8-12 hours of undergraduate research each

week, I was joining a sorority, and I also had to keep up with 17 credit hours of classes.

 

               I grew exponentially through this time crunch. Not only did I learn how to balance many

time-consuming activities, but I also learned how to better manage my time wisely. I stopped

watching TV or using Netflix, and when I did have free time, I spent it on activities that really

mattered to me, like my friends and my family.

 

               Furthermore, this time management challenge influenced me to see myself in a

positive way. I learned that I had limits, but I can do a great deal of good in those limits. Also,

I have learned that even though I am not as smart as some of the other honors engineering

students, I am clever and a hard worker. I am proud of how much I worked this spring semester,

and this pride helps me see myself in a more positive light.

 

               However, even though I am proud of how much I worked this past spring semester,

the one thing I would change about this year would be that I would have joined the engineering

social sorority in the fall instead of the spring. Joining Phi Sigma Rho has been one of the best

memories I have had of college so far, but it was hard joining the sorority with so much else

going on. I am happy that I joined the sorority, but if I joined in the fall, then I would have spent

more time with my fellow sisters, and my spring schedule would not have been so difficult.

 

              A piece of advice that I would like to give myself as I prepare for the upcoming year

would be to stick with what I am doing so far. When I was in high school, I would change up what

I was doing year-by-year. For example, I would be in Writer’s Club for freshmen year, and then

drop it in sophomore year and pick up doing orchestra for the school’s play. In junior year, I did

lacrosse instead. And then in senior year, I did service work at the US Geological Survey. At the

end of my high school career, I had tons of relationships with people and tons of diverse

experiences to talk about, but they were not deep, meaningful relationships or experiences that

would last past high school. I want my college career to be different, and to do that, I need to

make sure that I stick with the activities that I am doing throughout college.

 

               One goal that I have set for myself for the upcoming year is that I want to get a co-op that will help me investigate my career path. I am still somewhat iffy about my major, so I want to get a good Biomedical Engineering co-op that will show me exactly what a Biomedical Engineer does and will help me decide whether or not I am on the right career path.

 

               Lastly, I will use my gifts and talents to give back to the community and society by inspiring others. I have been a storyteller since I was young, and I want to start sharing my stories with the world. Other people’s writings have helped me multiple times to become more than I have ever thought I could be, and I hope to motivate other people in the community and the society in the way that those authors encouraged me.