If I could create a soundtrack to describe my time here at Cal, it would probably not be something most people would play while going about their daily routines. The truth is that it would not be the most cohesive playlist of songs, as my time here has been a whirlwind of distinct experiences that all have their own unique charm and personality. The songs may not necessarily match with each other, but I find that this accurately reflects my experience here in the Bay and everything that I’ve learned here.
My time studying at Cal and taking residence in the Bay Area has been littered with transformative experiences, from meeting lifelong friends in the organizations I’ve joined to learning so many interesting facts in the classes I’ve taken on niche subjects. One of the most life-changing experiences was getting hired for my current job as a Campus Ambassador and getting trained by my wonderful cohort leader. He was not only a mentor in the workplace but also became a role model in my personal life. I felt that he oftentimes played an older brother figure in my life and was someone I could turn to in my hours of need. When I think of him, I think of the song “Champagne Coast” by Blood Orange. I had the privilege of watching my cohort leader receive an award last year, and I remember he posted a group photo of our cohort afterwards, with this song playing in the background. The song is alternative with hints of pop, which I feel perfectly captures his quirky charm and his zeal for life. I also recall someone saying online that it was the “song of the summer,” and I think that is a great way to sum up how meaningful my cohort leader was to me, just as meaningful as “Champagne Coast” was to popular culture.
Another incredibly transformative experience for me was joining my international relations professional fraternity. Not only did I gain countless educational and professional opportunities from being a member of the fraternity, but I also gained an invaluable community and forged lifelong bonds. As a transfer student, I was concerned about feeling out of place on campus and struggling to make friends. But my international relations fraternity became one of my first families at Berkeley, and I felt like I could lean on them no matter the circumstances. To them, I dedicate 2000s-2010s pop music. Often called “recession pop,” it’s danceable, singable, and puts you in a high-spirited, party mood. And it always happens to be playing during our events, from our out-of-town retreats to our parties at the house. It includes songs like Rihanna’s “S&M” and Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night,” and some of my fondest memories are dancing and celebrating to this music with my friends in the fraternity at our various social gatherings. I think it perfectly represents the wild, spunky personalities we have in our fraternity and the camaraderie we have with each other.
And lastly, I want to highlight Bay Area rap music. Though I can’t remember any of the songs by name, I firmly believe that this music characterized my most recent summer, when I stayed in Berkeley to work on campus. Over the summer, my sister came up from Central California to visit me for a few days. During her visit, we went to thrift stores, visited friends, and checked out local eateries. We explored other parts of the Bay Area, not just Berkeley, and we found ourselves on nightly road trips or long drives with our friends from the Bay, some of which we already knew and others of which we had just met that summer. On the first of these drives, one of our friends asked if she could play “local music.” Unsure of what that type of music was, my sister and I said “yes” with an open mind. We soon learned that there is an entire subgenre or subculture of rap and hip-hop music that got its roots here in the Bay Area and Northern California. I had been introduced to Bay Area and NorCal music earlier on, when I first moved to Berkeley, but I didn’t know the extent of its popularity and its hold on local people until this summer. Though it wasn’t music I typically listened to, I felt that it described the zeitgeist of the summer and the thrill and adventure of having new experiences with my sister and friends old and new.
Though my experiences were diverse and often had little in common with each other, the one thing they all shared was that they enriched me and changed my life for the better. They told a story, even if the parts seemed like unrelated fragments at times. It was the story of my life and how I’ve evolved as a person, in my own nonlinear way. So maybe in the end, my Berkeley playlist was cohesive after all.