I'm so close to finally graduating, and that has got me reflecting on a lot of things. Midway through my time here COVID hit, and after a break I did end up swapping majors as well. I guess you could say that I've been here for a while 😆 Overall I will say it's been a wild ride but it was worth it! Though that has got me thinking; What sort of stuff on my freshman bucket-list have I accomplished? And what do I wish I added?

Note the next bit here is kind of a word dump. You've been warned!

TLDR: - Changing major/goals helped me mentally - I can model 3d characters, fulfilling a childhood dream - Still haven't gotten a GF, but I have been opening up my shell! - Getting a job midway through helped out/gave me focus - Shoutout to the UCF art club! As well and to VRKnights 🔥🔥🔥 - I plan on wearing a pin I got on orientation day when I finally graduate. I have got to fulfill freshman me's dream there! - A few other shoutouts to some LEGENDS on campus

So the first big one would be to graduate which that is about to happen lol. Originally I was in civil engineering but with the pandemic happening and everything the stress did get to me. Since then I have swapped to digital media, and ngl, I so loved my choice! Most of what I learned during my time in this major has been self-taught, and like now I have the ability to fulfill my old dream of making 3d characters reality. Also during this time I got to meet so many wonderful people that honestly have been super inspirational. Who knows? Maybe my work might end up getting into the next Fortnight/Overwatch clone 😤 One could only dream!

That leads to my next bucket-list item. Going into uni made me desire to break out of my shell and get to socializing a lot more. I have always been more of a quiet kind of person, though I will say I have made several leaps in that regards. Though with that said due to the pandemic, and other situations, I will say a negative here is that I did end up not making any close friends during my time here. Going fowards I'm hoping to change that! I did attempt to join several UCF affiliated clubs, but for some reason the ones I joined ended up dying so quickly. 😵‍💫 But on that note a quick shoutout to the art club members - y'all are awesome!!! Also on this subject one bucket list item was to try getting myself a significant other, or just to get close to someone. It did feel great that in my final semester I finally went on a few dates for the first time! Which to me was a huge personal accomplishment. While they didn't work out it still was a confidence boost. I mean I do have a few weeks left so hey, it could still happen 😆

Another goal of mine was to be healthier. This is for both physical and mental health! And on that note mentally I feel so much better about myself than I did just a few semesters ago, which to me is huge. The pandemic really did put a lot of things into perspective! I also ended up getting a job during that time for once which in a way helped me out mentally, but hurt my soul. I have gained so much respect for my fellow retail workers!! Some silly thing that experience caused was my habit of pushing my cart back from my car to inside the building. It may sound weird but like knowing that it will be one less cart for someone to go out and push makes me just feel better lol. Now physically speaking I will say that I haven't lost the pandemic pounds just yet, especially after swapping to a major over at the downtown campus. My main exercise for my first few years was hiking over to my classes, but nowadays I just take a few steps from the shuttle and back.

So speaking of silly things, did anyone else get a little UCF pin during orientation day? I did orientation all the way back in 2018, and I got a pin that someone has stayed with me. I've moved so many times, and lost it several more, but by some miracle I have found it! I told my younger self not to wear it until I graduate, and welp I can finally do so!! I also got a pretty swag tie to optionally wear but that has TBD.

Lastly I just wanted to close this off with a thank you to everyone who has helped me push through it! Especially to my very supportive parents, to my friends still in Jacksonville, and to my best friend & twin brother. Lastly I would like to shoutout the characters I met in my life! Such as Kyle the Sousaphone Player, the "LeGaliiiZe MeDiCallll MarIjuUana" guy (still stuck in my head lol), the one kid who fell off a skateboard near me but recovered via a cartwheel, the koi fish by the student union, the lime bikes that were in peculiar places, the online professors who opened all the assignments early, the monk with the mad beats, the guy who chose the playlist for the area around the CFE Arena (still is cooler name than "Addition Financial Arena"), the awesome german shepard that was brought into my psychology classroom, to the biker who decided to go down the stairs near the art building after his friends cheered him on, Huey Magoos, to the awesome lad I had a super pleasant nerding out session with in the bus after we complimented each other on our shirts, and to you the reader who went through all this! And of course, I have to shoutout the Reddit community here!! Y'all are a bunch of crazy goofballs sometimes and I love you for that haha. All these guys and more definitely helped keep my tenure that much more memorable!