lessons

turning twenty-one feels like / i’ve just turned seven three times. / the lessons feel so simple. / but simple is not easy / to do well. being grown up / is but the sum of small parts

Like a social pariah among victors with seemingly endless opportunities, I tactfully observed a living system of privilege and oppression that causes present and generational pain. I refused to submit to this feeling as I forged a new way forward.

Throughout my freshman year, there was never a dull moment and I learned so much about myself and the entire culture at UC Berkeley. 

I’m so sorry. You had to keep picking up the pieces and putting them back together at an age too young.

Studying abroad, as anyone who has ever done it will say, is a more rewarding experience that you could ever imagine it to be. There will be highs (many of them) and lows (these will inevitably crop up) throughout your time, but you will be grateful for all of them.

Sophomore year, also termed as sophomore slump or even worse, suffer-more year, holds such a bitter reputation for many students. Exactly what is it about the second year of college that makes it so hard or so infamously miserable? Is it because after this year, you finally begin to realize that your college career is already halfway over? Or is it because you're finally able to declare your major, and suddenly, the academics, extracurriculars and connections that you make really begin to matter? Nevertheless, it's an inevitable path that students must take in order to receive that diploma at the end of four years. Despite the many hardships that seem to never end during this second year, when you reflect back on it, hopefully you'll be able to appreciate this year as one that has taught and matured you the most.