Berkeley often feels like multiple schools combined into one. The diversity, the resources, the energy. Through their time at Berkeley, each and every one of us goes through different phases. In my case, I had times when my ideals went head on head, but also seemed to do a full circle. Since I am still in the midst of it all, it is still a bit of a jumble. But regardless, I still note them down, since the world is a curious place, and nobody knows how these words from my journey may inspire someone else.
On the Move: From On the Line, to Offline
Throughout my university life in Berkeley, I was always on the move.
It all started with COVID of course, back in 2020 when I first enrolled in Berkeley.
Overnight, the world had turned upside down, and all international travel had almost come to a standstill. My first year on campus was fully online, as I stared into a screen for zoom calls in the middle of the night back in Korea. For the first semester, I woke up at 4am after going to sleep at 7pm. Then for the next semester, I stayed up through the night up to 5am before going to sleep until the afternoon.
It was a lot of lectures, online discussions, and grinding with classes until I did my mandatory military service, and returned to campus in 2023.
My first semester on campus in Blackwell hall was all about feeding. Sather lane, Asian Ghetto, and crossroads were places I alternated between as I sought for food, sometimes with my meal plan and sometimes with my allowance. I had library buddies who went to study with me until dawn, and walked through the campus in the afternoons to get some sun.
Then came my involvement phase, where I started to apply to all the clubs I missed out in my first year. Skydiving. Vertical Farming. Korean Catholicism. STEM, and also undergraduate research were all things I applied to and got involved in as I met new people. Every once in a while, I would travel along the streets full of bustling activity and visit friends from these organizations.
My junior year was all about movement, as each semester, I got involved in something new, and someplace new. Initially I moved out to an apartment with my friends, and became involved as a student ambassador. I jumped between clubs and research labs as I sought for one that fit my goals. Then in the Spring, I moved again as I got hired as an RA in unit 1, one of the first year student dorms. In the summer, I moved once more to a subleased apartment from my graduating friend, as I wanted to continue on with my research.
Now, in my fourth year with UC Berkeley, and my third year on campus, I pause and take a look back.
When I came back in 2023 following my mandatory military service, I was excited, but also desperate to catch up, so I piled up a huge mountain of classes. I was worried about catching up, but also excited at all the new things I discovered while exploring the school, so I just kept piling things on until there was too much going on.
Each and every single semester, I was on the move. To a new dorm, to a new house, to a different setting.
Every semester, I got involved in something new, and with the school being such a fast paced campus, every semester, I moved to someplace new within the more traditionally bustling, Southern side of campus.
Each and every time, the experience changed.
But I was always on the move, and I always put myself on the line as I tried something new.
I make two more moves, the first one being a move to a private studio where I am king of the castle. At the beginning of the fall semester, I pause, reduce my classload, and let myself fall into my bed and hibernate.
A few days ago, I made my second move, to the North side of the campus for the first time. Compared to the energy of the South campus, It was so quiet that I fell asleep. Then, waking from my long slumber, I realize that I am residing right next to my home college for the first time.
Berkeley has six undergraduate colleges, and nine graduate schools. Every time I walk through each of them, it feels like I enter a completely different university.
Yet, I had rarely actually taken the time to stop, and really look at the green fields, nor the streams of Strawberry creek at my home college: the Rausser College of Natural Resources.
Again, for the first time, I paused, and really took the time to appreciate the steam, the sun, the view, and the fields instead of listening to lectures or rushing to my next activity.
Yes, I had an impeccable time by seeking out my next adventure, and yes, this was how I built my own Berkeley, since you live to regret the adventures you did not take.
Indeed, I met wonderful people, and made wonderful memories.
However, just like I did at the end of my online classes, I find it is now the time to pause, stretch my legs, and go out to smell the flowers.
So I do just that, smiling and waving goodbye to everyone as I go offline.
BYOB: Build Your Own Berkeley
Berkeley is a lot like an open world adventure, where you find yourself in the midst of an almost infinite amount of resources, and an infinite branch of choices.
It is not a place that spoon-feeds you a set path, but rather one that dares you to blaze your own.
So from all the people I’ve met during my time here so far, no two individuals had the same experience, and everyone seemed to be surprised in one way or another as they stumbled onto something new.
One of my friends fell in love with the stars, in the midst of exploring swamp ecosystems at the dead of night. Although one friend started off with studying machine learning to become a software engineer, he ended up generating a new chemical structure model which got him involved in writing a research paper.
A roommate I encountered taught me skills on playing a guitar, as he performed in a school performance in the midst of writing his english essays, and I found myself working as a student ambassador after introducing my campus to my friends at the Korean Catholic club, in between labs for my Genetics and Plant Biology class.
The deeper we dig, the more unlikely the combination of our activities seem to be.
However, I realize that is what makes life so special here. There are no cookie cutters, so it takes a while longer to find our way, but when we do, they are that much more beautiful. In fact, every undergraduate in the college of Letters and Science comes in undeclared, until they explore a plethora of classes in the seven course breadths. Of course, that doesn’t mean we are just lost, since all the resources are right there, as long as we reach out. The Career center, Undergraduate advising, Counselling, Faculty Advisors and even peer advisors who speak from our shoes. They are all there.
Just like Life.
That is why I chose Berkeley. Because it is an adventure, where we can freely explore, adjust, and be just a little bit lost, just like the world that lies beyond.