Dear junior year,
What a wild ride, am I right? I’ve been looking forward to writing this blog post all year, but now that I’m here I have no idea where to start. Lets work backwards. I had my first ever in-person Cal Day on April 23rd, 2022, and dare I say it, life felt like normal after two whole years in the pandemic. Wow. I won an award in the Rally Committee for being a dedicated older member. I applied for chair of the Rally Committee and did not get it (I’m telling myself that one is a blessing in disguise). I took over this blog and have been running it for quite some time now. I joined Dean Guyer’s leadership team in the Arts & Humanities department. I made some new friends. I took the best class with the best professor that I know will never be topped by any other course I enroll in. I decided to move out of the house I’ve spent the last two years in. We won the Axe back in a devastating victory over Stanford. You have to admit, 41-11 is quite the score. I got in to some shenanigans along the way and now we’re here.
Cal never ceases to amaze me. Each year I’ve been here has been vastly different from the last. Every few days I’m learning something new about myself or the university or anything really. Part of being a campus ambassador is sharing what we call our Berkeley story with the visitors we interact with every day. The how we got to Berkeley or why we chose Berkeley, and with every tour I give and conversation I share, that story changes. There’s just too much to cover in a short four minute speech, but the message is always the same:
I’m proud to be a golden bear, and extra proud of the path it’s put me on.
So I look to the future. I’m looking forward to giving tours this summer and getting to know the new hire cohort of ambassadors better (y’all are awesome). I’m looking forward to turning 21 with my best friend here in Berkeley together. I’m looking forward to maybe getting an internship? Honestly, who knows about that one. But most of all, I’m looking forward to senior year. When I was a freshman I couldn’t fathom ever being ready to leave college, it was just a reality I couldn’t comprehend. But now, despite the trials and tribulations, the ups and downs that have continuously thrown me for a loop, I know that I’ve gotten absolutely the most out of this experience so far, and I’m ready to end it with a bang.
The cool thing about UC Berkeley is that it prepares you for life beyond college. Yes, the time we spend here is priceless and something that we get to cherish forever, but college is meant to end and that’s the mindset I’ve found myself in recently. It sounds morbid and very sad, but it’s not, I promise. I’m writing this as if I’m graduating in two weeks, which I am not, but in a years time I will be, and that’s crazy to think about.
Junior year you have been an interesting one. From the epic highs and lows of Cal football to a class on stand-up comedy, from making new friends to watching old ones go on to their next big adventure, I’ve gone through every emotion and experience seemingly imaginable. I reread the letter I wrote to my sophomore year and then the letter I wrote to my freshman year, and I have to say that every year I come out a different person. I think that’s for the best.
Shout out to my junior term, and here’s to the next one. The last one. I’ll see you in a year. And, of course, go bears.
Cheers,
Bridget