Not Yet

I am ten days away from the end of my first year in college. One year ago I was worried about AP tests and senior project; I am now concerned with finals and having a place to live next year. One year ago, I did not know where I would be today. I would be in Berkeley, that much I knew, but I did not know what experiences were ahead of me. I do not want this to be my "end of the school year" summary blog, not yet. I still have ten days left. I will however say that the end of the semester is bittersweet. Five months ago I was counting down the days until May 18, now I am wishing I could slow time down just a bit. Without hesitation, in the beginning of February, labeled this "the slowest semester ever," I was inaccurate.

I also think (or know) I grew a lot over the course of the past academic year. The longest time I ever spent away from home before this was five days at summer camp before third grade. I cried almost every night due to homesickness. There was definitely a bit of that this year as well, but I handled it well and I made my transition and I succeeded (at least in part) in becoming a functioning adult. I do not have a full time job, nor due I pay utilities, but I am infinitely more independent than I was a year ago and I cannot wait to let my wings keep growing next year when I do have to go grocery shopping and pay utilities. There is much to learn and much more to figure out about myself.

I will wait until the end is nearer before "my recap," I just wanted to comment on how things were and the feelings in my heart.

Preachy College Student

Yesterday the University celebrated Cal Day, which is not actually significant of any event in Cal's history, it is placed when there's about four weeks remaining in the semester. The day is geared mostly towards prospective students fumbling between Cal or any other school. Some seniors earned a full ride scholarship to a different school or they are trying to choose between Cal and the "school across the bay" (we win there, our clock tower is 22 feet taller--size does matter.) The University pulls out all the stops and shows how amazing the campus can be. Each department has a booth, every club is handing out some kind of propaganda, and the band is playing fight song after fight song. If you like crowds and enjoy overly spirited college students, this day is for you.

My family, namely, my mom and little sister, came to visit me for the first time since I started my college life. They met some of my coworkers and saw just how crazy Sproul Plaza is. We walked around getting free stuff from every booth. Mom, often out of guilt, would strike up conversations to make it appear she was actually interested in what they had to say. Needless to say she knows about as much as I do about Mediterranean anthropology. The people working the booths were either really dumb and believed in our interest or they were just really enthusiastic about their field. Probably both.

On another part of campus were about eight booths devoted to energy and resource sustainability. One of the booths offered a ribbon for making a sustainability pledge, for paper, energy, water and transportation. My sister made a paper pledge to use the backsides of used paper whenever possible and Mom made a water pledge to shut off the water when she brushes her teeth in the evening. I took the easy way out, I made a transportation pledge to use modes of transportation other than a car at least once a week. The last time I drove was spring break and the time before that was when I came home in the beginning of March. Like I said, the easy way out.

Even before the pledges, I have always felt guilty whenever I used or wasted resources. I always try to be environmentally friendly and conscious, but I often feel that the small number of people that are don't offset those that are not. I would like to hope that one day we can use purely solar or wind power and not have to worry about global warming or gas prices above $4 a gallon. There are four minutes left of (global) Earth Day 2007. What is your pledge going to be?