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Helllo! I am Marissa Loeza and I am 18 years old. Currently trying to obtain a degree in both biochem and accounting. I am from Chicago, Illinois and in my free time I enjoy watching movies, running, painting, and baking! I also have a crippling caffeine addiction :)

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One goal of mine is to be able to obtain a double major in both biochem and accounting. I know this is going to be difficult and a lot of time put into it but it is something that I want to make happen. I want to be able to pursue something that I am interested in doing while also exploring different fields that aren't connected to my original field.

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My first step is to talk to my academic advisor about this, that way he can help me pick out the classes I need to get my degree in both of these subjects.

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Taken when I was in San Francisco

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My 2nd step after talking to my academic advisor would to look into the courses I need to take in order to obtain my dual degree. I would need to be on top of my schoolwork and hopefully join some RSO's that can help me throughout my journey at UIUC.

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For my third step of achieving this goal that would be to do good in my classes. This is a goal that everyone should want to achieve but for me I would need to be on top of my work if I intend to pursue 2 degrees at the same time. I will most likely talking to my academic advisor and my professors about any questions I have more frequently so I understand the workload better.

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A small quick painting I did when in high school for my IB Visual Arts class

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Me after I went on a run. I have been running for 7-8 years and I hate it but I’m too dedicated so I don’t quit.

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My second goal is to just make some friends. I have friends from high school that come here but I also want to grow my social circle and meet new people from different cities perhaps or countries.

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I randomly became friends with someone whilst at a concert 

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Step 1 is just to seem approachable. I don't want people to think I'm some weirdo but I also don't want to hide away my whole personality. I want to be friends with people that have common interest as me or people that just appreciate my appearance

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Step 2/ just another step is to join some RSOs. There are many different RSOs on campus weather it be for academic, personal or for hobbies there has to be something out there for somebody. Joining an RSO that slides with my interest can help me meet new people.

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Another step to achieve this is to just go out and explore and talk to people. I'm not a shy person and I like to think that I am extroverted. I believe that I can make friends that I can hangout with outside of classes but also understand that there are going to be friends that are in-class only friends where we just talk in class and not really hangout aside from it.

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My third action plan to achieve at my time whilst at UIUC is to just have a good mindset and take care of my mental health alongside my physical health. This is because I struggle a lot with my mental health and that tends to influence my physical health.

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Steps to achieve this goal varies from person to person based on what they find relaxing/calming or just based on interest. For me I want to get more yoga and meditating. I took yoga and pilates my senior year in high school and enjoyed it quite a lot. I would like to spend time in my day to take time to practice this just to clear my mind.

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I would like to better improve my eating habits. This is because in high school I was so overwhelmed with work that I would usually have one meal a day. I want to work on eating good and healthy foods so looking around campus for food or just going to the dining hall to see what they have in my time because now I have more time to eat when I want.

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I want to be able to believe and have confidence in myself and what I do. In high school I felt like I was asking permission to do things and in general felt like I needed validation from others to make myself feel good. I want to be able to rely on myself and know that I am doing the best I can. I'm in therapy to help me with this and also have a mantra app that gives me affirmations to help me have a healthy mindset.

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So far while on the 8 weeks on campus, I have not been doing a whole lot. This isn't because I am like mega boring and just want to stay in my dorm all the time. It's the opposite and I love going out and hanging out with my friends. The first 5 and a half weeks of school I was in a relationship. My partner did not want me going out at all and didn't want me to have any friends and would get upset if I gave anyone my number or instagram, and me being me listened and did that. I had to go speak to a counselor at the school about emotional abusive relationships. He broke up with me and then I decided to go out and my first night out I went to the Soulja Boy concert. I'm still trying to make more friends and I'm trying out new places to eat at. So far most of my money is going to Just Bee which is at the Union because I love acai bowls but if I want actual food then Pho Noodle Station is where it is at.

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I’ve also grown a major addiction to Noodles & Co. while here 

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Throughout my weeks here I can say, it is not really how I would envision it when I first started high school. I had a whole different idea of how my life would be structured when I would be in college and some stuff is true like me staying up late doing work but I never realized how much freedom I have. There is a whole new community here and everyone is living their lives in hopefully in a way they want to live it. I feel more free and feel like I can actually discover myself as the years come and make rules for myself and how I want to do things. By the end of the year I just hope to be happy with who I am and just know that I am doing the best I can and that I am here for a reason.

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Just another painting of an eyeball. The only thing I feel I am really good at creating.

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Just a insta story I made showing I am dedicated to getting my morning coffee

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First coming to University I thought about how to make friends and how to find different social events. I came in feeling happy about the new environment and felt better coming here knowing that I had people from my old school so that way I wouldn't be entirely lonely and have no one. I grew out of my comfort zone I would say and I feel happier than I did in high school because I feel more free and feel that I can do things for myself. That doesn't mean I know exactly what I want or understand my purpose but it is helping me grow closer to that statement and also helping me grow as a person. I'm still trying to get more out there and continue doing things I did in high school like volunteer work because that is something that I enjoy doing. I also want to explore new hobbies and explore campus more.

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This song just wakes me up and needs to be played more often at parties.