December 2019

The Beauty of RRR Week

We did it! It’s here! My favorite week of the semester: RRR week!

Ever since I started taking final exams, I have relished the period of limbo between the end of classes and the beginning of exams. In high school, this period of time was always limited to a regular or three-day weekend, just enough time to quickly review everything you need to know for the final. But here at Berkeley, that time has been extended to an entire week. And I absolutely love every second of it.

Here’s the thing about RRR week. The three Rs stand for reading, recitation, and review, three activities that prove very helpful when preparing for final exams. But I’ve always believed, at least informally, that one of those Rs should stand for rest, because that’s a really important part of the week for me. read more

Secondhand Shopping

Ah, yes second-hand shopping, a favorite past-time of mine. When I realized that neither my wallet nor my sustainable-living habits matched my excessive shopping habits, I found a solution to my problems in thrift shopping. I spend too many days and hours scouring the various Goodwills of the world, and I can definitively rank my favorite local shops for all your thrifting adventures.

#5 Crossroads (Shattuck and College locations)

This would be better put as a consignment store than a thrift store because they only buy nice brands and vintage pieces, but hello it’s all about the sale section! If you’re just getting used to secondhand shopping, this is an easy place to start, but be mindful about how much you’ll dish out for something. A used dress isn’t always worth $30, so I recommend only going for high quality or clearance. read more

The Day I Finally Knew

When I began my Berkeley journey, the last thing on my mind were the friendships and connections I would build along the way.

As a freshman, I believed that I was here to learn, build skills, and graduate.

I spent High School so focused on the distant future that when it suddenly came, and college appeared on the horizon, I was completely unprepared. Growing up in California, an obvious action was applying to California’s two public university systems: UCs and CSUs. However, beyond those respective applications, I didn’t put in much thought to where I applied. At that time UC Berkeley wouldn’t even have made the top ten on a list of schools I could see myself attending, so when it became my best choice four months later, I was unsure what to do. read more