Junior year was by far my best year yet! While I am incredibly grateful for the year I had, I cannot help but be a little sad knowing this means senior year is around the corner. I know everyone says the four years of college go by fast, but I didn't expect it to feel this fast. On the same note, I never anticipated having the opportunities I did this past year, so I am again thanking myself for choosing to take a leap of faith and come to the University of Florida.
I'm looking back through my camera roll while writing this to remind myself of everything that happened this year. Starting off in August, I met some friends to walk to our first day of class, and turns out Julia and I spent too much time together over the summer because we were coincidentally wearing the same outfit... down to the shoes. We spent almost everyday of the past summer together in Gainesville studying, working out, and swimming. I'm thankful for steady friends like her! I thought this picture deserved an honorable mention.
The highlights of my year were spent cheering on the Gators, exploring Gainesville trails, watching the sunset, going to concerts with my best friends, meeting my family for a weekend in St. Augustine, and going to Paris, France with my research competition team (iGEM). I coded the website for our project on sepsis, and was able to see the competition through with three other members of the team by presenting our project to a panel of international judges in Paris at the Grand Jamboree in November. We booked our flights two weeks in advance, and spent only a few days after a red eye flight, but it was one of the most unforgettable experiences.
In addition, I took the MCAT in January, which was a huge feat. Lastly, I spent the subsequent months presenting my research poster at several regional and state-wide research conferences. Overall, it was an incredible year. It was difficult at times, but I reminded myself that anything worth doing is hard. I am so grateful to have these pictures, and more, to look back at as reminders of all that I experienced this past year. As for now, I am working on finalizing my application for medical school and looking forward to all that senior year will bring!
