Personally I was really excited for this event. Having to participate in the 1st annual REACH out as a high school coordinator for the organization was a blast in my opinion and having to take part of the 2nd REACH Out field day was truly an honor. This event helped me become more open towards other people, shaping me into a better person in a way, realizing that the world we live in isn’t always so gloomy. That we high school students (and even high school graduates) can always have fun and still meet new people that’s outside our respective realm. Personally this event is a great gateway for new members to understand the “human” side of REACH, having to interact with past and present members in games is always a joy in my opinion.
The event’s main purpose is to have members interact with other members, getting to know each other through playing games and/or simply just interacting with one another. This event is a pretty good gateway for fresh, new members to come into the organization and meet the current officers of REACH. Personally, this is the closest thing you can have as a family reunion with having games, food and fun, and being part of REACH already feels like having a second family, helping one another no matter who you are, it’s literally Reaching out.
Being part of this event and participate in it for 2 years always feels like an honor. I highly suggest new members to participate in it and to show the “human” side of REACH. This is a great way for relationships to build up with one another and a great way to improve one’s social skills and add up in those confidence points. Overall, 10/10 would do this event again, and will be excited for next year’s version of it.

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As this was my first time attending the Duanwu Dragon Boat Festival, many of the things we did were new to me. With the help of my fellow REACH and friendly CHARGE members, I was able to learn the basics of rowing. During the races, there was a friendly, competitive atmosphere and that made the races extremely fun and exciting. Additionally, I was able to learn quite a bit about the traditions of the dragon boat festival through the many trivias and games we played. Throughout the event, I met a lot of new faces and connected with many different people. Overall, the Duanwu Dragon Boat Festival was an amazing experience and I look forward to attending it in the years to come.

The Duanwu festival was a interesting and cool experience. It was a great opportunity to learn about parts of Chinese culture like Dragon Boat. At the festival, I learned how to paddle and ended participating in a fun race. I also got to try some delicious sticky rice and play a rock-paper-scissor game with water. Overall, it was a fun experience that allowed me to try new things and meet new people. I would definitely go to this again!

Although I have volunteered at many REACH events over the past few years, I recently attended the Duanwu Festival for the first time. Through the festival, I paddled for the first time, ate zhongzi, played games, met new people, and got to hear about the history and story behind the festival.  I enjoyed being able to finally paddle and race after watching REACH paddle numerous times. The festival was a great experience for me as a new paddler to not only see how Dragon boat works, but also to see how I needed to improve to join the REACH Dragonboat team. Overall, the Duanwu Festival was a great experience, and I look forward to attending more!

Misallocating my time. Because of this, I’ve stretched myself too thin on extracurriculars and did not allocate enough time to effectively prepare for my classes. This was a major issue I had not only during senior year but throughout high school. Sophomore year I had my first major GPA drop because I did not have the stamina to keep up with my academics along with marching band/Wind Ensemble and being part of a conference planning committee. It will only diminish as I was not willing to let go of my extracurriculars. As a result, I graduated high school with a 2.78 GPA and did not receive my IB Diploma. Despite my poor academic performance, I was fortunate enough to be accepted to UCF by the recommendation of my Guidance Counselor.

I needed to make up for my failure back in high school. From the beginning of freshman year, I learned how to utilize my calendar to time block my day, practice deliberately studying for 45 mins increments and taking 15-minute breaks in between. Through trial and error, I was able to build up my academic foundation and manage my extracurriculars/internships more effectively.

To the students entering their senior year or advancing a class in high school, start valuing your time more. Consider your opportunity cost when deciding on your next task. Once you have a better grasp of your time, enjoy your high school experience. Enjoy not having any serious obligations and find something that will bring you joy. If you can’t find what brings you joy, actively searching for your passion counts. Have something that makes you so good that people can't ignore you. And if you end up graduating poorly like me, it’s not the end of the world. Post-high-school will be an opportunity to reinvent yourself. It’s honestly what you make out of it at the end of the day, and the dividends will show.

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