student life

Focus and Managing Stress During Finals and Midterms at UC Berkeley

August 19, 2024
Anna R.
Focus and Managing Stress During Finals and Midterms at UC Berkeley

Summer sessions at UC Berkeley can be intense. This past summer, I found myself buried under a pile of midterms and finals, all hitting at once. It was overwhelming, to say the least. With everything happening at lightning speed, I barely had time to catch my breath, let alone keep up with the endless stream of assignments, exams, and projects. As the dust settled and the fall semester started to peek around the corner, I figured it was the perfect time to step back, reflect on what I’d just been through, and come up...

Threads of Growth: Weaving Leadership and Community at I-House

August 12, 2024
Anna R.
Threads of Growth: Weaving Leadership and Community at I-House

Yesterday, we hosted an I-House send-off event. I found myself sitting on the Glade, watching the sun dip behind the hills, and I couldn’t help but think about everything that’s happened in just three months. A year ago, I moved from Beijing to Berkeley—two cities that could not be more different. This May, I stepped into my role as an RA at International House.

I-House lounges overlook the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge, like windows into other worlds, each resident carrying their...

Food Recipes for Dorm-Living

August 9, 2024
Ruthabella L.
Food Recipes for Dorm-Living

For my freshman year at Berkeley, I lived in Blackwell Hall. I absolutely loved my experience and got to meet so many new people from around the world; I know that I’m going to miss living so close to so many close friends. It really was like a fun sleepover every night (except we had to go to classes, do homework, write exams…the parts that made it a little more stressful than a sleepover). However, while Blackwell is the newest undergraduate dorm building with many nice amenities like a 24-hour gym and 3 study/social lounges on each floor...

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...

Fifteen Years in the Making: A Letter to my Past Selves About Study Abroad

August 2, 2024
Jordan S.
Fifteen Years in the Making: A Letter to my Past Selves About Study Abroad

Let me start by addressing my past selves, beginning with five-year-old me. Remember how you went to LEGOLand and went through the mini LEGO cities? You saw the Sydney Opera House and instantly thought Wow, I need to go there! You learned that the magnificent structure in front of you was real and located in a place called Sydney, Australia. From that point on, you knew you needed to go to Sydney and see Australia for yourself. Australia became a place of wonder and utter coolness. Moving on a few...

Home: My Commute to Berkeley This Summer

July 31, 2024
Esther Y.
Home: My Commute to Berkeley This Summer

My journey from my home to my new home in Berkeley is quite short. Originally from Sunnyvale, CA, located in Santa Clara County of the Bay Area, going home isn't much of a burden. It takes about an hour down Highway 880, and the Orange Line BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) even takes me directly to the Milpitas BART station, which is just 20 minutes from my house.

As a campus ambassador working this summer—all while enjoying the coziness of my childhood room, my mom’s home-cooked meals (nothing beats her Korean...

How to Stay Focused During Quarantine

February 28, 2021
Vincent Ooi

Taking classes during quarantine is already hard enough…you also want me to stay focused?! This request is absurd for some folks. Today, I’ll show you a few ways in which you can not only stay concentrated in your work or studies for long periods of time, but you can also voluntarily shift your focus at anytime you want.If you want to see how, then read further! I will show you the steps in which you can do this as simple as possible.

...

From Small Town to Big City

April 1, 2024
Anna H.

Taking the 215 to San Diego or LA, you will see a suburb of Riverside County called Menifee, CA. This little city was established in 2008 and now has a population of just over 100,000. It is about 30 minutes southeast of UC Riverside, an hour north of San Diego, or an hour south of Los Angeles. There is a really good chance you may not have heard of it.

I grew up in the small, quiet town of Menifee, California. My mom was an elementary teacher, so I was enrolled in the school she taught at up until I was in 5th grade. From there, I went to a public K–12 charter...

A Semester in Washington, D.C.

December 23, 2022
Sydney Hilbush

As I stood inside the Capitol Rotunda, offering a tour to a group of constituents, suddenly a huddle of U.S. Senators emerged from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office and quickly breezed past me to make their way to the Senate floor. As they traveled past me, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with gratitude for the opportunity to work inside our nation’s capitol and intern for the U.S. Congress. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity would never have been possible without my involvement in the University of California, Washington D.C. (UCDC) program. ...

Dancing My (Blue & Gold) Heart Out

December 1, 2023
Ethan C.

Prior to coming to UC Berkeley, I danced throughout my childhood. Beginning when I was eight years old, I used to dance in an after-school program with the YMCA. I was a hip-hop dancer until I was 13 when I entered middle school. I took a break from dancing for two years, then came back to it when I was in high school. My school offered Mexican folklórico dance classes as electives and I took it for fun. I ended up sticking with it all through high school as it was a very significant part of my cultural identity. Now in college, I dance for group on campus and through our school’s...