Sunday night, I went to Hayward Round 1 with three other BMT members to play Pump It Up (PIU). Never met more of sweats than them. Also I got yelled at by my mom because I was outside late at night. In her defense, it was quite very late indeed. 11 PM to 2 AM, oops!!! This mini social made me think - what if I do belong here? I have yet to feel any sense of belonging at Berkeley, but actually having fun with people that I met for the first time at this school made me put some use into my brain....

I have come to realize the key to daily blogs is to write some lighthearted posts instead of always trying to be so reflective all the time. So here we go: I am a certified music listener (or whatever you wish to call it). On 2024 Spotify Wrapped, I had around 194k minutes recorded, so that's speaking volumes. And the following are the ways I have been listening to music in the past years: 1: Leave a song on repeat until I get sick of it Sometimes I find a song that's absolutely my taste and ...

8/18/2025 - Early move in 8/19/2025 - Official move in 8/20/2025 - Check in for GBO (Golden Bear Orientation) 8/21/2025 - Got cooked inside the Haas Pavilion with 5k other people in the 90 degree weather + Carnival + Karaoke 8/22/2025 - Bear Pact 8/23/2025 - Silent Disco 8/24/2025 - Poster Fair, Caltopia, Walked to Oakland to check out a Safeway with SX and WL, Failed White-out (Long story short the club we were going to go to said free RSVP then charged us $20 at the door so we all left) 8/25/2...

I have actually been subconsciously thinking about this topic for a while… I honestly might be the worst conversationist to ever exist. And I have only come to realize that recently. So that's great no? I sometimes wondered why either I get told "it's not entertaining to talk with me" or "[I am] not engaging in an active conversation with people" a lot of the times — I found out why. This is limited to texting, but I believe that one of the easiest ways to tell how interested the other person ...

Last summer I watched a T1 game in Korea and spent 6 weeks in Boston for a summer camp. Last last summer I stayed in Korea the entire summer doing math. Last last last summer I (unfortunately) took an SAT/ACT preparatory course. Last last last last summer I went to lake Tahoe. Last last last last last summer I moved to America. And the rest I don't remember much; basically I remember less than half of the summers I've had? I've been trying to figure out why I haven't been able to write my thou...

heavily unfinished I wish I knew myself better but I do know how to tell whether I am burnt out or not. Or just how to check in with my mental stability in general I guess? One thing is probably related to music. As an avid music enjoyer. I am chronically on Spotify or honestly any music streaming service, having Spotify premium as the best financial choice I have ever made my whole life. A warning sign from my brain is probably when music starts sounding bland. Every music sounds different fo...

I feel like since January to February ish my brain has just not been functioning like I cannot think like how I used to be able to for some reason hello bring me back to when I could whip out a whole blog post in 30 minutes I can barely think for 30 minutes straight recently ahhhhh ok that was a greatly exaggerated lie but anyways This MIGHT be because I've only been going out for activities like rock climbing and physical stuff mostly rather than studying and actively using my brain like befo...

Keep in mind that I didn't proofread it or anything its just raw writing... this is cringe don't read nor talk to me about it Question: How is unconditional love real? My answer: In the short story Paper Menagerie written by Ken Liu, Jack and his mother consistently experience a one-way love. Ever since Jack gets bullied at school for many unjustifiable reasons, he slowly drifts away from his Chinese identity – including his own mother. Regardless, his mother constantly attempts to bond...

As you all know, I'm currently a senior going through college applications. I'm writing a post because I just faced the first ever struggle in writing a longer essay. I find the greatest struggle throughout this entire (such draining) process to be writing personal statement. How do people just find topics to write about?? I actually have about 10+ different topics that I started writing but just couldn't wrap up because I had no idea where the story would go and how it would convey my life st...

We had a 15 minute long free write in AP Lit today on one of the "Big Questions" of our choice from those that my class wrote in about 10 minutes (there were about 110 questions...). I thought it was a good brain dump for the day so I will be posting. Keep in mind that I didn't proofread it or anything its just raw writing... Question: Why do we yearn for love? My answer: Humans unavoidably interact with other human beings throughout their lives, and we tend to develop and express our f...

In the past two days (I started writing this a few days ago, so this is in perspective of beginning of this week), more people have been learning that I recently started writing a blog. I didn't intend to keep it private, but I also didn't mean to go around advertising my blog and telling everyone that I write a blog. However I did want more people to read it so I kept dropping "oh yeah that's why I started writing a blog," in the middle of college essay conversations (college application panic ...

"Guys senior year second semester, we're going to go out every weekend and be the most locked out people to ever exist" - many people in my friend group for a long long time So, I will be making a list of things I want to do once college applications season is over! I hope to come back and check off some good amount of things on this list and be productive (in being locking out). Most - if not all - will involve friends so I'll just omit the "with my friend group" part (unless specified). Roc...

I have been through the paper SAT, digital SAT, ACT, and of course our favorite, AP exams. Paper SAT Paper SAT was alright. It's been quite a while, but I do remember it being insanely long to the extent that I couldn't focus around the time I got to the last two articles because I was so tired. This is why I chose to study for the ACT. ACT ACT, is much more fast paced, and barely gave me anytime to think - especially on the reading section. One time I tried the writing portion as well, but af...

Gaslight. Gatekeep. Girlboss. I call these the modern day 3Gs. While the ancient times (they're not THAT ancient but they're ancient compared to me, therefore they're ancient) Europeans explored around the world looking for 3Gs (gold, glory, and God), I say people nowadays master the art of the modern day 3Gs for their own good. Let's talk about the first G, gaslight today. Many of you guys probably already know, but I used to gaslight myself that I like math in 9th grade. I was just in hurry ...

I try not to be too conscious of what others might think, but it is definitely challenging for me. Though some may not believe given how clueless and tired I look most of the time (...), I'd say I am pretty good at reading the room; most of the time, I know what's going on in my surrounding, I just never have enough energy or interest in it to call it out. My intuitions are usually right, to the extent where it scares me sometimes. Sometimes I would ask the person later in public to establish ...

Life goals: Ph.D. in something (math? perchance?) Get a hugeee garlic farm Permanently move to Iceland and live off of my garlic farm income Be forgotten by miscellaneous people (please) Bucket List: Bungee jump Skydive See the northern lights Ice skate on a frozen lake Busk in the streets with friends Make songs and post them Go camping at the dark skies and see the Milky Way with friends Ski trip with friends! Go on infamously scary rides Road trip with friends Impulsive trip to somewhe...

When I am asked which year of high school I like the most so far, I always say "My junior year was the best year," and also say, quite ironically, "My junior year was the hardest year." Why do I say two such conflicting things? Junior year, by far, gave me the most amount of work all my life. And this is solely because I simply put too much on my plate, with the "fuck it, we ball," mentality. A friend of mine always says that school is just a huge casino where you gamble whether you can stay lo...

My mom often tells me that I prioritize my friends over my anything: including academics, goals, or sometimes even family. But every time this topic is brought up, I can't even argue back saying, "No, I have my own priorities and friends are definitely not on the top of the list, of course I would put myself on the top priority." Is this because it is true that I value my friends so much that I could do anything for them? There a popular phrase that parents frequently say: "Would you jump off t...

I was never good at expressing my thoughts. Whenever I feel the need to say my feelings and thoughts out loud, the thought of “would anyone care, what if everyone ignores me” kicks in. I hate being ignored. That is so rude. That's where I developed infinite respect towards people who are able to express their thoughts out loud to the intended public. People often say I am not expressive but rather dry and tired. This is a false statement. I just don’t know what to say to show empathy or show t...