Aaron Reyes
Fall Quarter
2023
My First Social Event
When coming to UW I was conscious of it being a predominately white university so from the beginning I knew I was going to find my Latinx community that I hold so deeply to me. I knew that the Ethnic Cultural Center (ECC) would be a great place for me to meet other POC who I would be able to feel comfortable with. They hosted a block party for the students and I decided to go with 2 of my other friends and from the second I walked in I felt an immediate sense if safety and comfort from looking at everyone else and seeing how they also looked like me. I made many new friends that day and it helped reassure me that I belonged here and it was going to be okay.
Honors 100 Identity Reflection
For this assignment we had to write an essay about our identity. This was such an important topic for me that I had not really acknowledged until I had to think and write about it. One of if not the most important identity to me is my Latinx ethnicity and how I struggled with it for a long time because I felt like I did not fit into the stereotype of what I was supposed to be. My struggle of accepting my LGBTQ+ identity as well had a big role in the battle of my entire identity as a whole. This assignment helped me reflect on many more identities I have and reminded me of how much I have grown as a person even through all the difficult times that I once thought I would never get through.
My First Low Grade
For this artifact I chose to put my first low grade on an exam. As of right now my intended major is psychology and I got a 67% on my second psych 101 midterm. This was really rough on me because it made me questions my intelligence and my ability to be able to pursue psychology as a future major. A low grade like that was something I have never received so taking it in made me feel like I did not belong here and put my self esteem down. But after talking with my professor afterwards she was able to explain to me that I was worth more than a grade or a GPA and that it did not define my capabilities or how smart I was. Hearing her words and explanations helped me understand how we all will have low moments where we do not get what we want but it is all a learning opportunity to improve and do better.