For giggles this may be a recurring series. It’s been fun reflecting on my time at the University of Florida (UF) and if any of my little stories help someone at UF I’m happy. Without further ado let’s get to the giggles, the grades, and the gators…

For Giggles

I love a walk. Walking anywhere just clears the mind and helps reset whatever problems I’m having. The University of Florida campus is a really nice place for a walk with many hidden gems. I remember wandering between brick buildings finding little courtyards, hidden corners by the gym in hearing range of the pool but not sight, secret boardwalks between sections of campus and housing, and so on. I’d start at studio and just walk, every few intersections I would pick right or left. There wasn’t a time limit just walk til I’d solved my problem or at least felt better and could keep working on my school work.

My favorite walk of all time was probably my most dramatic. It was nighttime, a few hours after sunset probably, I was stressed and decided fuck it, I’m going for a walk. I started out at the Architecture building and decided to try to get to the Bat Houses and Lake Alice figuring somewhere out there I might find a little garden or secret path to walk on. It started drizzling when I had made it to Frat Row. I had changed my mind about reaching the Bath Houses and walked down Frat Row to the street over and started walking what I figured was back towards the Architecture Building. Naturally once I was out of quick access to any immediate shelter it just let loose. I was soaked in seconds. By now I was crying and laughing and just so so so done with everything. I made it to a little bus shelter and stopped for a second and just lost it. I thought how silly to hide in place when I’m already basically rain for how wet I was. So smiling and still crying some I stepped back into the rain and walked all the way back to the Architecture Building.

I took my time, admiring the tree canopy that lessened the force of the rain falling, the lights that became more frequent as I reached the heart of campus, the way all the plants seemed more vibrant and the brick color had changed. By the time I was back to the Architecture Building I was giggling and had long stopped crying. I walked into the studio and gave one of my classmates a quick run down of what was left on our structural project due the next day, promising to come back once I’d changed. Laughing to myself as they had looked at me like I was insane completely dripping in studio talking thru a project, I walked across the street to my dorm. I took a hot shower, changed into comfy clothes, and went back to studio to wrap things up with my project group.

The next day was fine. The project did well and I had a little more resolve on how to handle my little troubles. Needless to say I now enjoy weekend walks with my favorite trouble, my fiancé.

For Grades

Look up your major, or majors/minors of interest, critical course load list. This seems like the most obvious advice but I cannot stress enough how often this is overlooked. Honestly UF does a really nice job of listing every available program so it’s easy to shop. Once you click the program link it takes you to the information page. My favorite part of this page is the Model Semester Plan tab. The university basically preplans the best course to take all your classes and graduate on time with credit counts, critical courses listed, and suggested additions to course load to meet additional university requirements. I used print outs of the critical tracking to create a model semester plan for myself for a variety of minors I was interested in to make the most of my time at UF.

Once you have your plan in hand go meet your advisor! Seriously just plan out your entire time at UF – make yourself options to explore then go talk to an advisor. Let them know early on what you are trying to do. So when you get to a semester where you know you’ll be at 18+ credits they’ll sign off without question. So when you need another course because the one you wanted didn’t work they’ll have a better idea of what to guide you towards, rather than fill an emptier class.

It might seem crazy but an intense planning session on day one of your freshman year will make everything so much easier. You’ll quickly learn what you like and don’t like. Once you’ve settled on your track every semester registration is simple, and all you have to worry about is passing the classes you’re in at the time.

UF Program List: https://catalog.ufl.edu/UGRD/programs/

UF Architecture Major: https://catalog.ufl.edu/UGRD/colleges-schools/UGDCP/ARC_BDES/#modelsemesterplantext

For the Gators

You will need your UF-ID til you die. I really thought it was only relevant as a student to get into buildings and track your courses and generally access anything for students. As an alumn I have needed it more times than I thought. You want to send an official transcript to the licensure board so you can become a licensed professional in your field: you’ll need your UF-ID. You want to check on your GPA or reference something from your time as a student for your resume, oh just login to your account, oh don’t know the password anymore – just put in your UF-ID to reset. It’s that or call someone who will ask why you don’t know your UF-ID.

Now if you loose the ID card don’t panic. I managed to find my UF-ID printed on a letter my mom had from being on the Dean’s list. Chances are if you have an academic related letter it will have your ID on it. If not, just call the IT Help Desk and reset things. Then save the ID somewhere safe.

In short just keep the ID safe. Better yet, before graduating just go get a replacement ID and keep it safe. Put it with your diploma in a safe til you need it.

Your college ID is almost as important as your state and federal IDs. Keep it, and keep it safe.