Year In Review 2025 - 2026
- Claudia Failor
- Jun 1
- 8 min read
Updated: Jun 11
A Different Kind of Year
I would say this year has been full of a lot of the same things as my first year of college. However, that may be a bit off from the truth. This year has consisted of different feelings, different perspectives, and different responses to these feelings and perspectives.
First Semester:
A Rough Start: The Wrong Class
The year began in a flurry of confusion and mishap. I attended the first two weeks in a class that I was not meant to be enrolled in. Fortunately, I am an independent person and realized it in time. I switched advisors a few times freshman year, which I think is pretty common. In the mix, I was told to enroll in a biochemistry course that is required for my major; however, it is not useful as a pre-medicine class and would have required me to take eight extra credits of chemistry at a level lower than what pre-med requires, as it is a nutrition-level chemistry course. This threw me for a loop at the start of the semester; however, I was lucky enough that it didn't seem right, so I looked into it on my own and realized I was in the wrong class. I had to switch into organic chemistry after missing the first two weeks of class and lab.
Jumping into Organic Chemistry Late
Organic chemistry is also known to be one of the more rigorous pre-med courses, so missing those lectures worried me a significant amount. I made sure that I put in the time to catch up and get myself resituated into the new classes. Although this was a rough start to the semester, it actually gave me some of my now favorite people. If I had enrolled in the class originally, I might have had a different professor with different classmates, and I might not have made the bonds I have now. Silver lining at its finest, I guess. One of the girls I had known from a previous class, so we sat together, and over the course of the next few weeks, we grew a little group of other students in the class that we studied with. Over the semester, we spent countless hours withering away, staring at the smudged whiteboards of the Old Chemistry Building, hoping that we would be able to understand why carbon likes to get attacked and why water likes to leave during a dehydration reaction. I could not name a day that I didn't see someone from the group throughout the semester.
Late Nights in Old Chem
We all wanted so badly to do well in this class that all of our time outside of class was spent mastering the concepts. There were many times that we ended up studying together until 3 or 4 a.m. near exams and 1 a.m. during a typical study session. The Old Chemistry Building quickly became a haven and a home, not only to me but to my friends as well. That building genuinely is what got us through the semester. We talked about it constantly since the library is not really ideal for studying in a group setting because the group rooms are impossible to book for the amount of time we need. We also got to connect to the projectors to explain problems to each other and play background music on the speakers. During finals, we took breaks to dance and put strobe lights on the projector. This allowed us to release all the pent-up tension and stress that we had been building up all semester.
Finals Week 3:09 AM & 2:04 AM (went to the chemistry building after my hospital shift at midnight)
My friends taking power naps during our 12-hour study sessions
Organic Chemistry, a love-hate relationship
Once final grades came out for the class, I was somewhat satisfied; however, I'd always wish to be better. I would have loved an A in organic chemistry, but even though I spent as much time as I possibly could and genuinely knew that I tried my absolute best, I finished with a B+, which will have to be good enough. I also got to be a part of a class with a professor who is passionate about organic chemistry and knows what she is doing. The friends that I studied with did become true friends rather than just "school friends." I think one of the largest differences this year compared to freshman year was that I feel as though I have finally found more peace with my surroundings. Freshman year, I felt like I was in a temporary place around temporary people whom I didn't really become that close to. Living in the dorms, going to a new building each semester, and not really knowing my place on campus was very difficult for me.
Finding My Place and Settling In
I tend to be pretty Type A, which has plenty of pros and cons. One of the cons, for me, is that I enjoy structure and feel that it allows me to flow with the current rather than fight against it.
The biggest difference, I think, that played a role in this overall peace throughout the academic year and life in general can be attributed to three things that laid the groundwork for growth in my daily life:
Having a house with my own space and feeling as though I was living in a home rather than a hotel with communal bathrooms.
Cultivating strong and meaningful friendships.
Working a job that I care about and that feels meaningful to me.
These three things gave me support and comfort when life felt messy and disheveled. Instead of cocooning internally when life feels uneasy, I feel that I have positive things outside of just myself that I can lean on and use in a positive way to keep going and push through difficult times.
Living life is not an easy task all the time, and frankly, most of the time, life is hard and can suck. But I think that if life were easy and smooth all the time, it would feel boring and mundane.
Second Semester
The Whirlwind of December
Starting 2026, wow.
I had just gotten back from the busiest, but wonderful at the same time, winter break. As someone who enjoys the hustle of life, this was definitely a moment that I wish had slowed down just a bit. The month of December included the end of the first semester, finals, and winter break. Everything felt so fast and all at once. I attempted to slow down and try to enjoy each moment to the best of my ability, but it was very difficult to do so during this time. I am in no way complaining about December, though. It was so fun and full of wonderful memories that I hold tremendous gratitude for. As the image shows, most days were filled with events, not just small events, but pretty big end-of-the-year events, in my opinion. The two days that I did get off, December 29th and 30th, were spent trying to reorganize and fully unpack, as my energy was pretty depleted from back-to-back events. These days were so crucial for my mental recovery.
Finals Week & Going Home
I had four exams during finals, all of which were in person and took a great deal of studying. I then went to a work party on December 7th, which was really fun because I got to hang out with my coworkers in real clothes and not just scrubs. The morning after the party, my mom came from Columbus to bring me home. (Side note: I don't have a car on campus, so I heavily rely on my feet, the Metro bus, and Uber/Lyft to get me where I need to go.) Once I got back to Columbus, my dog, Louis, welcomed me. I was not, however, welcomed by my lovely siblings, as that is not something they do. They got a pass because their finals week was approaching the following Monday, and I was the lucky one who got to go to Steamboat, Colorado, to ski for a week.
Steamboat, Colorado: Snow Cats Ski Trip
I joined the University of Cincinnati Ski Club, Snow Cats. We partnered with an outdoor organization called Outside Life that puts on huge ski trips and events with colleges all over the U.S. Through Outside Life, we went to Steamboat, Colorado, for a sticker price of $865, which included room and board, transportation to and from the airport, ski rentals, lift tickets ($300 less for IKON pass holders), and entrance to many fun events. If anyone has skied before, they know that skiing can be an expensive hobby. So, although this is a lot of money to spend on a trip, I think it is pretty incredible compared to what someone would have to spend to go on their own. I had a great time on the trip. I went "random" with my roommates because none of my ski friends wanted to or were able to go on the trip, so I was left to fly solo. I ended up really liking all five of the other girls that I roomed with and felt so lucky to have this experience.The skiing itself was pretty awful, with only 30% of the mountain being open and the weather being extremely hot (for skiing), with lots of ice and slush, not to mention the thousands of college kids there. The trip, however, was still really fun. Colorado is beautiful, even if the ski conditions aren't ideal, and being in a cool place with cool people is enough for a good time for me. We skied every day and attended the various events that POWDAZE hosted, including DJs, an Abominable Snowman (Yeti), and top- and bottom-gondola parties.
Family + Ski Trip
After this ski trip, I flew from Colorado to Utah to ski with my parents and siblings and visit our friends and family who live there. My birthday included over 12 hours of travel and waiting in airports and buses, so it was definitely not ideal. But I didn't mind, knowing that I was having the opportunity to ski so much during those two weeks. We spent our time in Utah seeing family and friends, having movie nights in, going out to dinner, and skiing all day - my type of trip. Then life went back to reality as we flew home for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and then immediately drove back to Cincinnati to work the weekend and both New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
Back to Cincinnati: Work and a New Semester
Then January came, which included more work and the beginning of the second-semester academic schedule. Many of my same friendships and routines from the first semester were present in the second semester, including long hours in the ED and countless hours studying organic chemistry. This time, I secured an A, which I am really proud of myself for achieving (sort of). I still have imposter syndrome and don't think that I deserve this grade, even though I worked really hard and even scored above the 99th percentile on the American Chemical Society (ACS) national standardized exam. I still don't feel like it was me who achieved that grade. I guess my goal for this next year will be to work on accepting my wins and failures rather than just focusing on my failures, as I typically do
Oh, oops, also, I went to Brazil, so feel free to read more about that here.
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