It's funny how my perfectionist, type A, high school self imagined this perfect, linear path that I would take as a college student at UW: study, research, volunteer, shadow, get into medical school. Learning to surf in Westport, WA on a 45 degree day in February with a newfound mentor and the professor of my CHID 480 course titled Waves of Knowing: Surfing and Empire in the Pacific was definitely not part of my "plan." This quarter was full of new experiences, self discovery, and the realization that getting into medical school is not my only goal; rather, I have a burning passion for learning about the contested histories and politics of humanity. I took CHID 480 completely on a whim, for I needed another course and learning about the sport of surfing seemed fun. I walked in on the first day to find that 95% of the class were members of the UW football team--very intimidating. Nevertheless, I found myself fascinated with the obscure yet contested history of surfing. My professor, Lydia Heberling, incorporated literature, film, and popular media into this powerful course that truly demonstrated how one-sided my education has been thus far. Road-tripping 2.5 hours to Westport with the two other female students in my class only to show up and find that we were the only students to actually attend Lydia's surf lesson field trip made for an amazing experience. We got into wetsuits, learned a few basics from Lydia and her surfing friend, and hit the cold waves. While I fell off way more times than I stood up, just gripping my board and feeling the immense power and lull of the waves was the utmost relaxing experience. We surfed for hours, lugged our gear back to the cars, and stopped at a hole-in-the-wall diner for the best Maui pork sandwiches, sitting outside at a picnic table with exhausted bodies, discussing life in the sunshine. Truly a life-changing experience. While I yearn to get out into the water again, I also discovered something truly powerful: this is what I want to study at UW. While science further fuels my passion for discovery and learning about the world’s processes and organisms, CHID teaches me how to be the best version of myself by challenging all of the knowledge that I have accumulated and allowing me to break down binaries in order to fuel conversation on a variety of contested topics. Having finished the introductory biology sequence, I had finally completed all of the prerequisites to apply to my intended major, Microbiology, but something was pulling me towards another subject: the Comparative History of Ideas. After having a phone conversation with the CHID adviser, I was sold. It was like fate or something because she is best friends with the Microbiology adviser (who's a UW CHID alum!). I eventually declared BOTH of my majors, choosing to get a double-degree in Microbiology and CHID. Though it will take an immense amount of work and planning, I know that this is the path that I was meant to take at UW and that I have an outstanding support network of mentors, professors, and advisers to help me achieve it. Other exciting events of this quarter included snow days, signing the lease on a house for next year with my best friends, President's weekend girls' trips with my sisters, writing and submitting an abstract of my own clinical research to a national medical conference, and getting accepted into CHID Prague Autumn 2020 study abroad program! Overall, this quarter really demonstrated that, while it's amazing to have long-term goals, there is no correct, straight path to achieving one’s dreams; rather, the opportunities and the roads to get there are truly boundless at UW.