Super Woman

Thanksgiving 2009.

Every year during Thanksgiving and the holidays I go through similar emotions. Thanksgiving is definitely the time to re-think about what and who I am grateful to have in my life. Like the other 234,203,948,209,480,934 million +1 people in the world, I am blessed to be in a loving, healthy family. I don't think I get enough opportunity to even say Thank you, I love to you to my parents or younger brother.

I had this feeling ever since I returned from D.C., my conscience is telling me that I should spend as much time with my family as possible. Then again... here I am in my final year at UCI - getting ready of entering the real world, away from home, focusing myself past a comfort zone and preparing for the worst to leave my cuckoo nest. I guess this just means, I can NEVER be away from home during the holidays unless under extraneous circumstances.

So after Thanksgiving comes what? Black Friday!
Went shopping with my family, but it was basically me and my mom in our element. I love my mama, so beautiful. Don't get the idea that I love my dad or younger brother any less, but something about that bond between a daughter and mother is something NO ONE can ever replace, not just because we went shopping, but just with my connection with my mom in general. Don't get me wrong, my mom and I have had our fair share of minor ups and downs as any relationship and I would still consider her old-fashioned and conservative, but that is my mama and no one can ever take her place. God Bless.



Thanks Mama. Love you Umma. <3

Passions Burning

Throughout my four years at UCI, never have I ever seen such passion and unity within the students. Currently, there is a rally going on with hundreds of UCI students marching around ring road, incredible solidarity. We need more students to support because this student fee increase affects ALL students from undergraduate to graduate students or first to four years. I got the same reactions for most of the other students - a sensation of having an extreme amount of UCI pride.

Of course here I am, wanting to support the rally with my fellow peers, but sitting in class with a firey passion to get out of here. I past by a lecture full of obedient students who are squeezing every penny for their education and time with their professor. One of my professors, Professor Chemerinsky always emphasizes that the student fees we pay are paid for our professors' time. Maybe not coming to class would have been a better idea, there is no TA here. Ugh.

ZOT. Whose unversity? Our University!
California is #1 in building prison and #48 in education. Perfect.

Update: My TA was at the protest. Go figure.

Story of my LIFE.

Once you are deemed a "senior" there is one inevitable question, "What are you going to do after you graduate?" For most seniors, they truly have no idea what they want to do. For others, they are trying to nab that one position open at a top firm/company or applying furiously to numerous graduate school programs to further their education and stay in school as long as possible. I always freak out when I hear the words commencement pop into conversation topics, there are so many emotions when I think of graduating this year.

This quarter I have definitely gone through my fair share of a flurry of options going from teaching English abroad, to graduate school, to now applying for fellowships and AmeriCorps. I will have to keep you updated with the results at a later time.

I was so good keeping up with my studies, but alas, senioritis is slowly hitting me. I'm fortunate that it hasn't hit me as bad as other students. I just need to prevail and finish strong! 7 more days until finals. JUST DO IT. Done deal.

However, I glad to say that I will be graduating in my expected four years and leaving the UC system. I am not sure how any of the UC Board of Regents expects students to pay for their student fees with the ridiculous 32% fee increase. I have noticed that students who are priviledged for the most part really are apathetic to this situation. (Of course, there are always those few exceptions, but I'm speaking in general terms.)


2 more weeks till winter break.