goodbye berkeley

I’m Growing Up, and That’s Scary!

August 25, 2026
Leandro L.

I think one of the weirdest things about growing up is realizing that, for most of your life, someone has always told you what comes next. When you are a kid, you go from elementary school to middle school to high school. You finish one grade and move on to the next. Every year already has a structure in life waiting for you. You know when school starts, when it ends, what classes you are supposed to take, and what you are supposed to accomplish before you can move forward. Even in high school, when you start to feel independent, your life is still...

Post-graduation Realizations

August 18, 2026
Nichelle W.

I don’t think I’ve quite grasped the extent of graduation yet. Whenever I scroll through old photos or see a former classmate’s Instagram post, I sometimes forget we’ve graduated. Subconsciously, I think about conversations we could have when we run into each other. It’s like a small jolt when I remember I might never see them again.

On my social media feed, there are close friends and acquaintances from freshman year I barely remember. There are people I’ve wanted to talk to for four years, and there are people I only befriended last semester...

Senior Year...What Now?

December 9, 2024
Jordan S.

It’s weird to think that I’m about to finish my final fall semester as a student at UC Berkeley. I mean, thinking back on it, freshman year does not feel that long ago. I remember moving into my triple mini-suite dorm room in Slottman Hall at Unit 1 and being so scared but excited for this new chapter in my life. I looked forward to attending a top university for so long and I finally made it. Freshman year was such an incredible time with all the new experiences I lived and the people I met. Moving into my second year, I took on leadership roles in a few clubs which gave me a true...

Things I Wish I Knew Before Senior Year

December 2, 2024
Jordan S.

As my final Fall semester at UC Berkeley comes to a close, I am reflecting on my time as an undergraduate student here. Through this reflection, I realized many things about myself and how I’ve grown throughout my time at Berkeley. Let’s have a look at some of the things I’ve learned and hopefully my stories can help provide you guidance with your college experience.

If you don’t like your lower division major classes, maybe consider changing your major

A common thought I had throughout my lower division classes was “yeah, I don’t...

My Last Big Game + Some History

November 22, 2024
Jordan S.

It is crazy to think about the fact that I am a senior at UC Berkeley and that this is my final year as an undergraduate at this amazing university. As a student, my mindset has always been to become heavily involved in school spirit and events. I mean, I hoped for years I would attend such an excellent university, I might as well be proud of my school, right? With that has come a large investment in campus traditions and spirit throughout my time as a Berkeley student, but nothing is more exciting than the annual Big Game against Stanford.

For those who do...

A Letter Before The Start Of My Senior Year

August 28, 2024
Madison K.

The day that this blog is being published, August 28, 2024, is the first day of my senior year at UC Berkeley. Also known as the last first day of school I’ll probably ever have. It’s definitely bittersweet. After Berkeley and obtaining my Bachelor’s, I don’t have any plans on returning to school, at least not for the foreseeable future.

I’m not against pursuing a masters or higher education. I’ve actually thought about it for a few years, more so now that my time as an undergraduate is coming to a close, but I just didn’t find myself committed enough to pull the...

Building Community: A Year in the House on Warring Street

July 29, 2024
Ritika K.
Building Community: A Year in the House on Warring Street

During my senior year of college I lived in a house with nine other women, and believe me when I tell you: it was better than the movies.

This was a reality my freshman-self could never have predicted, especially having started college on Zoom amidst the COVID pandemic. I went from having no in-person college community to coming home to one every day. The added excitement to this senior year housing extravaganza was that I only knew 4 of the 9 women before moving in. Most of us didn’t know each other at...

Two Left Feet, One Big Leap: Learning Dance and Embracing Failure at Cal

July 22, 2024
Ritika K.

This is a story about a girl who went from sporting a lifelong aversion to dance, to participating in UC Berkeley’s oldest student-run dance organization for over half of her undergraduate career.

One thing about me? I’ve always loved risk aversion. It makes life feel safe, somewhat predictable, and within my control. I’ve mostly lived my life by assessing my personal strengths and playing into them, minimizing the level of risk in every decision I make.

Dance had never been my strength. Choreography rarely stuck in my head. I felt awkward moving my long limbs around and...

Blogging

April 26, 2024
Maggie D.

Hello. My name is Maggie, and I have been running Bear Talk Blog for the past two years.

I got introduced to blogging in the 4th grade. My ELA teacher, Mrs. Mueller, ran her own blog and taught us the purpose and styles of blogging. In the 5th grade, Mrs. Mueller has us start our own blogs on Kid Blog, making required posts once a week. For the month of March, our entire class had the option of participating in the Slice of Life challenge. This was a daily blogging challenge started by the Two Writing Teachers blog,...

The Soundtrack to my Time at Cal

April 6, 2023
Alyssa H.

The past four years have been a whirlwind – the one underlying thing that got me through good times and bad was music. Whether I was blasting Phoebe Bridgers in my headphones to get me through a dull day or heading across the bay to see my favorite artists perform live in concert, there were sweet, sometimes bitter, melodies keeping me going.

Freshman Year

Fall 2019

“Home” by Cavetown

During my first semester, I was still trying to make Berkeley feel like home. I would listen to this song often and I...