Self-Inflicted College Experience Reflection Assignment

 I'm an experience design and management major which means I've learned a lot about what makes a good experience in the past two years.

One of the first things they teach us in our program is the peak-end rule as defined in the book The Power of Moments by Chip & Dan Heath. The peak-end rule states that people rate experiences, “based on two key moments: (1) the best or worst moments, known as the “peak”; and (2) the ending.”

In my program, I've also learned the power of reflection. During the past three years of my college experience, I've completed 29+ different reflection assignments.  Due to these frequent reflection assignments, it has become second nature for me to reflect on an experience as it comes to its close. Therefore, I had the idea to write this reflection post on my walk home from school on the last day of classes winter semester 2022. I present: a reflection on the macro peak experiences of my college experience at BYU.

Pit: freshman year depression

Pit: freshman year anxiety

Pit: not feeling like I fit in freshman year

Pit: my BYU Store job

Pit: poor grades freshman year

Peak: Russian 101

Peak: coming home from my mission and finally feeling like I had a few familiar faces and friends on campus

Pit: post-mission depression

Peak: Multicultural America class

Peak: getting 100% on one of my history essays

Pit: getting a C+ in Accounting 310

Peak: getting a B in Econ 110 during COVID semester

Peak: getting accepted to both the EXDM and IS programs

Peak: making friends in the EXDM program and finally feeling like I had a place where I felt I belong at BYU

Peak: zoom chat

Peak: my first 4.0 semester

Pit: getting sent to the Honor Code Office with 4 other classmates by a professor

Peak: winning two class competitions

Pit/Peak (Pik?): recovering from Honor Code Office PTSD

Peak: the Provo YSA 5th ward

Peak: finally getting a school scholarship my senior year

Peak: TAing for Dr. Sarah Agate Taylor

Peak: emotional intelligence class

Pit: anticipatory graduation depression

Pit: my friends planning their own graduation reception instead of supporting the one I'm planning for the EXDM department

Once again referring to the peak-end rule, I will remember my BYU Experience based on the most intense best or worst moment as well as the ending of my experience. For me, the most dramatic best/worst moment was getting sent to the Honor Code Office. The ending is yet to come, but today, it's not looking like it's gonna be good.