As I am typing this reflection of my sophomore year, I am somehow really confused and relieved. Confused, because I can't believe it's been a whole year since I typed my freshman year reflection. It seems like it was just last week that I was locked in my room and wasn't allowed to leave because of the pandemic. Relieved, because I made it through an entire year of virtual learning! Not only that, but I even managed to snag an A in Organic Chemistry II, despite learning all of the concepts online. This past year was by no means easy (I did get COVID in November after all), but I am coming out of my sophomore year much more confident and sure of myself than I was last year. 

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Coming back to campus in the fall was a little scary, especially since my rooming situation fell through two weeks before I moved in. It ended up working out for the best though, and I was lucky enough to live in a two-person suite apartment all by myself. Some people may have shuddered at this, but I absolutely loved it. Living alone was something I never realized I needed, and I attribute that empty apartment to the majority of my success and mental stability this past year. Scioto will definitely be missed next year! Aside from living on campus again, I also decided to go through Formal Sorority Recruitment and joined UC's Kappa Delta chapter! Joining Kappa Delta was the best decision I made this year, and I have made so many new friends and made lots of exciting plans for next year. 

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Academically, this year was a bit challenging, but I am so proud of myself for how I pushed through. This year, I really fell in love with both of my majors, Biology, and Classics. Last year in my reflection I had mentioned that I was really unsure of my majors and was considering changing my course of study. My academic plans have undergone a lot of changes this past year, but I am more confident than ever that I am studying the right things in college. I got the opportunity to translate Homer's Iliad in the original ancient Greek and somehow fell even more in love with Achilles, Hector, and Andromache, something I never thought would be possible. I also got to work on an awesome research project through the Chemistry Department developing a possible treatment for prostate cancer and delved deep into the inner workings of cellular biology. Although I didn't end up changing my majors this year, I did decide to change my career path after I graduate. I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out how I can best utilize my two unique majors in my life after college, and have (mostly) settled on becoming an intellectual property lawyer. Law has always been something I've been interested in because my dad was a lawyer, and my constant exposure to both science and the tiny details of texts will serve me extremely well in the fields of contract and patent law. Figuring this out was really exciting for me. 

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Looking back at my goals from freshman year, I am extremely proud of myself for accomplishing a lot of them! I was able to get a 4.0 for the spring semester and participated in my first-ever presidential election. I voted by mail and made sure to do extensive research on all of the candidates I voted for! I have also been trying to have more conversations with my friends and family about politics without getting angry or frustrated when I hear something I don't agree with. I have also been working to fit a trip abroad into my academic plan. I am pretty set on doing a semester in Rome but am also looking into going to Patras, Greece for five weeks in the summer as well. I am so excited to finally get the experience to leave the country and see Europe, and hopefully, this will become a more clear plan as the year goes on. 

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For this upcoming year, I want to keep up the progress I have made working on myself from this past year. I have come to realize that I really value my own alone time, and I want to continue to prioritize this next year. I want to keep doing well in school and begin to study for LSAT, while maintaining my own mental well-being. Freshman year was a really big adjustment, but I think I have made miles of progress learning to take care of myself and prioritize the right things. Though things will look a lot more like freshman year did soon, I want to keep prioritizing myself. My biggest goal for next year is to start going to CAPS and really continue to better myself. 

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I am looking forward to what the next year holds for me, and am so excited for the opportunity to go outside and work for it.