Ever since I was little, I’ve hated surprises. Each birthday, I wake up with knots in my stomach, knowing that the day will be full of unexpected events and jump scares. I distinctly remember hearing my high school best friends giggling outside my bedroom door on my 17th birthday at 6am, dreading the moment when they would burst in to surprise me with waffles for a “surprise birthday breakfast”. Good or bad, I like to know what’s going to happen next. I prefer to see the road ahead of me and walk carefully forward, eyes wide open. While this is how I may prefer to live my life, my second year at the University of Cincinnati forced me to accept, and even find joy, in the unexpected. 

       About a week before my planned move-in date in August, I received the sudden news that I got selected as a Resident Advisor in Stratford Heights. Within 24 hours of receiving the job offer, I had to quickly pivot my original plan of living with my best friend Ellie, move into Stratford Heights, and readjust to the new reality that I would now be responsible for 25 first-year residents. During the overwhelming whirlwind of RA training, I remember thinking to myself, “This wasn’t the plan! I’m not ready!”.

        This sentiment applied to several other events that happened around the same time. Just before returning to campus, I found out that every single one of my originally in-person classes switched to an online format due to COVID-19. The next day, I got an offer to be a Teaching Assistant for my favorite professor from my first year. Receiving this conflicting mix of surprises was jarring- while I was excited for my new opportunities to become an RA and TA, I wondered how I would balance everything while managing my time with online school (which brings out the worst of my procrastinator tendencies). At the same time, I was already bracing myself for a year of challenges- it would be my first semester in a new major, new college, and new business honors program. I felt like I was laying in bed on my 17th birthday all over again, feeling the knots form in my stomach as I anticipated the surprises I knew were to come.

       While I didn’t feel ready for any of these changes, good or bad, I knew my only choice was to take a deep breath and run full speed toward these opportunities. 

       Although the first couple weeks as an RA were certainly an adjustment, I soon adapted to my new reality and successfully guided my 25 amazing residents through their first semester at college. Along the way, I grew close with the other RA staff members, gaining lifelong friends. I accepted the TA role, joined an elite squad of fellow Business Law TA’s, and formed a lasting relationship with a transformative mentor. Come spring semester, the online classes I originally dreaded allowed me a flexible enough schedule to take on an internship at a nonprofit called 1N5 where I directly contributed to the mission of ending mental health stigma. 

       Along the way, I learned to embrace the unexpected. When one of my honors experiences, Women in Leadership and Learning, was shifted to a Zoom format, instead of lamenting my misfortune, I was just grateful that technology still allowed us to connect as a community while staying healthy. I jumped headfirst into activities with my newly declared Business Economics major, leading to great friends, an executive board position in the Economics Society, and even a fellowship through the Kautz-Uible Economics Institute. I even surprised myself a couple times! I joined a business fraternity called Delta Sigma Pi and gained almost 200 new brothers. I quickly made friends within my new Kolodzik Business Scholars community and was voted “Most Likely to Brighten Your Day” at the KBSpy awards. After my first semester, I even made the choice to add on a Neuroscience double major to complement my Business Economics degree.

       The truth is that “first-year Julia” would have shuddered at the thought of experiencing so many surprises. Now, all I can do is laugh at the surprises that come my way. My life would not be nearly as fun or fulfilling without all these unexpected events. Surprises have brought joy, personal growth, and yes, even humor, into my life. Loosening the reins and accepting a lack of control over life's surprises has made me more grateful, an attitude I hope to bring to the future. Next year, I’m looking forward to taking on more leadership roles, getting more involved in economics research, and studying abroad in the summer. But, if this year has taught me anything, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. And I can’t wait to see how I surprise myself next.