ALL ABOUT ME
|
|
|
Being a J School Days At Present Favorite Things WHY? |
 |
So what was my college experience like? Well, let me answer the most pressing question that I'm sure you have for me. Yes, I saw Chelsea around, and yes, she had secret service guys everywhere (I almost ran one over in the Wilbur parking lot...sorry man, but you really shouldn't be sneaking around behind cars...). With that said, let me give you a few of my impressions about The Farm.
Campus: Simply breathtaking. The only thing it lacks is a town around it that doesn't suck. No offense, Palo Alto, but your town is boring as hell. The architecture on campus is stunning. Memorial Church (MemChu) is the greatest place for contemplation, meditation, prayer, study...I spent many an hour inside its walls doing the last two concurrently (specifically, praying to the gods of partial credit while studying before finals...and hey, I graduated!). Hoover Tower (HooTow) offers you a spectacular view of...well, Palo Alto and its surrounding hills...okay, maybe that's not all that spectacular, but the Tower itself looks like a giant phallus...so there. The dorms are nothing to complain about (Manzanita Park rules!), the Student Union (Tressider) offers some decent places to eat if you don't have a car, but if you're looking for a Taco Bell, YOU WON'T FIND ONE!!! Why? Ask the people that protested it. You bastards!
Campus Life: Campus what? Just kidding. Sort of. One interesting thing about Stanford is the bike culture. The campus is huge so almost eveyone bikes, and everyone is in a rush to get somewhere...yet they still attempt to shoot the breeze while riding in opposite directions. If you haven't yet experienced the Doppler Effect in a conversation, you're missing out. Try it!
As for dorm life, there is this Department on campus called ResEd. Basically, they are the people that make sure that you and the person that they assign to be your freshman roommate have absolutely nothing in common. Then they try to make your dorm into a cult. Okay, maybe that's a bit unfair. Maybe not. While ResEd does a great job of uniting the people in the dorms, social interaction becomes at times a bit TOO dorm based, and meeting new people from other parts of campus can be a difficult task, indeed. On the other hand, if it were not for ResEd's presence, I wonder if some people would make any friends at all.
First off, let me say that the student body at Stanford was the most exceptional I have ever encountered. Brilliant minds, amazing talents (and me, with neither). I have made a number of friends that I will cherish forever (and I have met a number of people who I have two extended middle fingers for). But the thing about some Stanford students is that they came to college from either an extremely sheltered life (gated communities, private schools...the whole 9 yds), or a life spent with their noses in the books. Or a combination of both. Consequently, many have the social skills of a potato, and define "fun" as staying up past 9 pm to email...(Related random note: I cannot count the number of times I was drawn into a conversation after saying "whassup" to someone, then having them proceed to tell me exactly what was up in their life. It's a greeting, people, not a question. Not unlike "hi." It's not like these people were from the backwoods...they just didn't know...) But on the whole, you won't find a friendlier, more laid back campus in the world. And it is this atmosphere that makes Stanford truly great.
To meet these friendly, laid back individuals (at least those brave enough to say "no" to ResEd), there were a multitude of Student Groups that offered the opportunity to congregate with peers who shared common interests. I, myself, was the Community Service Chair of AASA (the Asian American Students Association), and the President of SUN (Stanford University Nikkei). Whassup to all my frenz from both those groups (and yes, whassup even to you guys from my dorms)...and with this whassup, feel free to tell me how you're doing!
Thanks: To Stanford, and Stanford's Art and Art History Department. You have given me many memories, and have helped me grow immensely. Dana and Andy, thanks for being great Drawmates...but my liver curses you guys... Jane-dear, thanks for taking care of me n keeping me occupied. Shelley, my fav J-girl, thanks for all your help with everything. Tiny Monkey, thanks for being a monkey...I couldn't be a Bobby without you. Miho, doomo for being a great imooto. Yoda, what can I say? Stop spamming me with these damn Memorial emails! j/k I thank you for your friendship since pre-day 1, and for always stimulating my intellect. And to all my dormmates and peers who have touched my life, thanks for everything!