JHU Pre-frosh!

It's official! I am now a incoming freshman (pre-frosh) at Johns Hopkins University! I think the decision would have been a lot harder to make had I not attended Asian Perspectives this past weekend. I fell in love with the campus and the campus culture. I say the past five days were days well spent.

When I looked out the window during the plane's approach to Baltimore, I was struck by the sheer amount of trees. Everything was green! Not a monotonous green like you tend to get in California, but every shade of green, mixed in with purples, pinks, and reds. My first thought was, "Oh my God. I love this place."

It was a difficult trip, getting from BWI airport to the JHU campus. I had to take a MARC train by myself, with all my luggage, to the Baltimore Penn station, then take another shuttle to campus. There was a sketchy moment on the train when I was the only person left in my compartment that left me wondering if I was actually on the train to Baltimore Penn and not, say, on a train with Destination: HORROR emblazoned on its side. (Oh, Sue Sylvester. I love you.) When I bought the ticket, I asked for "Penn station, please." The guard gave me a look and said, "Which one?". There was brief pause of "OMG. There's more than one?" and I guess stupefied horror was etched very clearly on my face because the guards started laughing. "Umm...the one that goes to Johns Hopkins University?" Whew. Thank god for vague, general statements.

I got to Baltimore Penn safely, but I probably looked like a retard walking up and down the station with a backpack, a rolling suitcase, and a sleeping bag. For the life of me, I couldn't find the shuttle stop for JHU. I had to ask a guard who said helpfully, "Just walk towards the big ugly statue and make a right." It wasn't very hard to identify the big ugly statue. (Refer to Facebook pictures.) I watched the first shuttle pull away right when I got there. Being the shameless tourist I am, I took the opportunity to bust out my camera and start taking pictures of the Baltimore skyline. No sooner had I taken out my camera when another shuttle pulls up. This led to chaos of hastily shoving my camera back in my bag, mentally muttering "shit shit shit", readjusting bags, and tripping my way onto the shuttle. Embarrasing. My luggage was so big that I had to leave them clogging up the aisle. I turned to the lady sitting across from me and ask, "Do you know where I get off for JHU?". She gives me a strange look (an expression I was to become very familiar with) and asks "What part?" Oh, mother of God. Not again. Luckily, I had called my host at the train station before I left and she had told me to meet her at Levering Hall. The people on the bus were kind enough to tell me "You're supposed to get off here." when we pulled up to the stop. Then, as if they weren't kind enough, a senior who had gotten off at the same stop offered to walk me to Levering Hall. She said, "I was heading in that direction anyways." THANK YOU KIND STRANGER! I never even got her name. ):

Just walking through campus to get to Levering Hall, I must have taken dozens of pictures. Trees! Grass! Gorgeous architecture. I was dizzy with the glorious novelty of it all. I spent the first evening sitting in on my host's dance practice. Natasha Senn, my host, is part of the dance group, Eclectics, one of the many extracurricular dance crews on campus. They were working on a routine to "Ease on Down the Road". I love that song! haha. They practiced until 8 PM. I hadn't eaten since I left the San Jose airport at 4AM. After we dropped off my luggage in her dorms (a forced triple), Natasha, her roommate Allison, and I went to Nawena's, a fancy Japanese restaurant just off campus. Zaru Soba ftw! I think the meal was especially delicious because I was starving.

Natasha had borrowed a inflateable mattress for me. THANK GOD. All the other prefrosh had to sleep on the hard floor. mehehe. My roommates were all awesome! Two of them were in sororities. Allison was in a engineering sorority while Erin was in some...scary...drinking...sorority. Hahaha. It was nice seeing the many different kinds of students that attend JHU.

The next morning, I tailed Natasha to her classes - American Literature 1820-1856, Social Psychology, and IFP. I loved EVERY ONE. The American Literature was pretty average sized for JHU, around 20 people. Psychology was huge! There was around 300 students in the room, and over half of them were browsing Facebook. (No shame, me too.) The IFP class was very small and kind of intimidating. 6 people, sitting in one row, within arm's reach of the (hot) grad student teacher. I didn't have a single moment to be bored and I was even inspired to take notes. Kamikaze sperm! Hiya!

IAC (Inter-Asian Council) did a really good job coordinating events that would give us a feel of JHU. We met with two sororities and I must admit, the sisters were nothing like I expected. They were all nice, smart, friendly people, not the girls-gone-wild characters I had in mind. Dessert socials are bomb, by the way. They made us shaved ice at the first one and deep-fried oreos at the second. Woot. I got to exchange phone numbers and Facebooks with a lot of them. When I got back home, some of them had already posted on my wall. For a second, I actually entertained the thought of joining a sorority. (; (Not going to happen.) The last night, we attended one of their sorority/fraternity parties. CRAZY. Let's just say, some people should not be allowed to play beer pong. I had this nice blue alcohol, no idea what it was, but it was delicious. heh. I left the party slightly buzzed and very happy about being at JHU. hahahaha

I think the most helpful part of my experience was the Student Panel. They had four students, two pre-med, one pre-law (the fourth one was just a senior) come and speak to us about their experiences. We got to ask them questions while eating Dunkin' Donuts, Einstein Bros. Bagels + cream cheese and drinking coffee and orange juice. They really gave us a feel to what we should expect. I stayed after to talk to Alex R. who, as it turns out, came from St. Francis high school near Campbell. We even had a friend in common! haha. Total Six Degrees of Separation moment. By the end of the trip, I was pretty reassured that when I go to JHU, I will never be at a loss for help and advice.

I think God has played a huge role in my attending JHU. I've said before that I applied to JHU on a whim. I never even entertained the idea of coming here. But God works in marvelous ways, and here I am. At the Relay for Life event, I was literally kind of spacing out when I hear Lester (our lead coordinator) say, "C'mon. Try talking to the Pre-Frosh". I turn around just in time to see this girl say "But I don't know any of them." Again, on a whim, I stuck out my hand and introduced myself. And so, God introduced me to Maria Ly from San Leandro, CA. We talked for half an hour about everything -- her experience at JHU (she is a current freshman), her major (Neuroscience), what it's like to be pre-med, and ultimately, available fellowships on campus. When I left for JHU, I was Natural Science - Undeclared. After talking to her, I have a pretty strong inclination to go NeuroSci. Within one day of being at JHU, I had been pointed toward the general direction of a Major and been hooked up with a Christian fellowship. God is Awesome.

I met so many nice people on this trip. "Nice" is usually the worst thing you can say about someone, but in this case, it is the highest compliment. We pre-frosh were pretty tight by the end. There was Jimmy and Rachel from New Jersey, Bryan from Seattle, Ella from Maryland, Robert from Chicago, Rachel from Delaware, Liyang from Pennsylvania, Michael from New Mexico, and Eric and Alicia, my fellow Californians. They also played a major role in my decision to submit my SIR. Some of them were still debating between other schools, but I know a lot of them are leaning more strongly toward JHU now. (; Boo, Northwestern, Duke, and UPENN!

Before I left, I spent an exorbitant sum on a JHU jacket. I'm trying my best now to forget how much it cost me. haha. Let's just say that more than half of all the money I spent on this trip went to that one item. My Asian side is so ashamed but my JHU side is crowing with pride. haha.

Needless to say, I love JHU. I love its clubs/organizations/fraternities/sororities/etc. I love its buildings. I love Baltimore. I love its classes. I really look forward to the next four years!

General Practitioner, HERE I COME!!

Airport

I'm sitting at the San Jose airport right now...probably looking like a big doofus with my backpack and sleeping bag. My flight leaves in less than an hour. Must say, I'm stoked! Still a bit nervous about changing planes, but I'm sure I'll figure it out by the time I get there. In less than 10 hours, I'll be at Johns Hopkins University, getting a taste of my potential future. :D Of course, I've got my camera on hand to document every moment. Can't wait to meet my host, Natasha Senn! Can't wait to finally visit the East Coast! (Florida doesn't count.)

Hope it isn't too cold...

Blessed

This Thursday, I will be leaving at the buttcrack of dawn on a plane to Baltimore, Maryland. I must admit I never even entertained this as a possibility when I applied to colleges. Johns Hopkins University. Damn. Life's funny like that. I applied on a whim, and now I'm almost certain that I will be spending the next four years of my life there.

I got rejected from Stanford first. I wasn't surprised. haha. I felt oddly emotionally attached from it. Then, Harvard and Yale. I was devastated for three hours. I guess I was naive in thinking I could compete with the top 6% of incoming freshman from all over the world. I'm still disappointed, but I also know that life goes on. Besides, there's always grad school. (;

My dad always tells me that finding inner peace is crucial. How much is enough? I used to think it was a crime to be satisfied with one's own accomplishments. I believed that I had to strive to be the greatest and the best at everything I set my mind to. I guess I'm thankful to have my Dad, who keeps me grounded in reality. He's always there to comfort me in my failures and remind me that there are far more important things to worry about. Wasted emotions, he calls it. While we were climbing Mission Peak, he gave me this Chinese Idiom: "The higher you climb, the lonelier you get." (Yeah, it sounds much more poetic in Chinese.) Today, I was in Ms. Copes room when I saw this quote she put on her wall: "Your best may never be enough for some people, but your worst is never enough for you." These quotes helped me to put my life in perspective.

My life isn't going exactly the way I hoped it would. But then again, that's how life is. Unpredictable. It's a continual struggle for me to define the point at which I am satisfied. How much is enough? I'm glad I got into Johns Hopkins. I think this is God's way of teaching me a life lesson. If I had gotten into Harvard, how happy would I be? I would be incessantly competing against the best and the brightest, which is not necessarily a bad thing. But I also want to focus on other things. I hope that, wherever I end up attending for undergrad, I will have the opportunity to challenge myself, widen my perspective, and prepare for the great future God has in store for me.

I've been on a Lord of the Rings binge of late, so I guess I'll sum this up with a LotR quote:

"All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given us."

-Gandalf

Life happens. Now all that's left for me is to decide what to do with this hand I've been dealt.

-

Clarity

There exists a window of clarity in the delicate hours of the early morning. I seem to be most lucid at the most obscene times of the day. For some reason, calculus only makes sense to me after my bedtime. I spent two hours at Panera with the most intense study group in the world (not really. hee. GOSSIP TIME!) then went to piano class, CA supermarket, and Target, before returning home to cram some more. Not pleasant. My brain is swollen, I swear.

Congratulations to all those who got accepted into the UCs of their dreams! You've earned it! (I bet it now makes Calculus seem almost worthwhile, eh?)

Ok. I'm going to read three more pages of MLIA and go to sleep. I swear. hee.

Aging

Yeah, I've been complaining of headaches for the past two or three weeks now, and it's really starting to become a pain in the ass...to everyone around me. By sixth or seventh period, I started feeling the fatigue in my neck. By the time I get home, I'm ready to just dive into bed and call it quits. It's at the point where I'm not even sure if I should be taking Tylenol anymore because I am popping them everyday. My parents want me to go see a doctor because now I have medical insurance. But really. What are they going to tell me that I don't already know? I've been to the doctor, the chiropractor, the accupuncturist...nothing has really worked and stuck. My dad swears it's the fact that I hover over my computer screen for over three hours straight without pauses. I tell him he's a ninny. >:[

I'm pretty sure it's not migraines because I feel it at the muscles at the base of the neck and in the temporalis. Tension headaches? Everyday? When all I do is basically suffer through school and return home to watch TV? Anyways, I read a Wiki article, which clearly establishes me as an expert, and I don't exhibit any of the symptoms that generally come with migraines ---auras, vomiting, etc. Just an annoying throbbing sensation that makes it difficult to think, sleep, laugh, play, etc.

It's about 8 right now, and I'm pretty tired. I've got a headache once again, and I really can't find a reason to stay up any longer. I feel like an old hag. I hope college is reinvigorating. I need the jump start.

High School could not be more tedious.

Davis and Fuji's!

On Friday, my Daddy took the Sienna in for maintenance. They found a problem with the car door that they said they'd have to fix over the weekend. Then, after my Daddy took the shuttle home, my mom informed him that the Lexus was leaking oil! So, that afternoon, my mom came to pick me up in this black car that I absolutely did not recognize, reigniting my childhood dream that my parents are actually super-rich international spies that are just staying underground as middle-class citizens until the next global crisis. My dreams were crushed once again when my hand actually touched the car handle of that janky Subaru. That car felt like it was made out of plastic. (shudder) I listened to my Mom complain of the crappy quality of the car in silence until the gears gave out on the highway and I felt obligated to join in. Needless to say, we returned that thing as soon as possible and stopped for some Chipotle in the Loaner Lexus.

We bring the car home and my Dad goes..."Hmm. We should run up the mileage of this Lexus. Want to go somewhere on the weekend?"

Umm. duh.

So, this morning, we leave the house at 8AM, ladened with all kinds of snacks, for Monterey Bay. My family always does this thing where we drive all the way up to Monterey Bay Wharf, take a family picture, and come back. (Lame, I know.) When we were about to leave the wharf, my Dad suddenly decides that we should go up to Davis and finally eat at Fuji's. Woot! Of course, I start calling everybody up, starting with Vicky to ask for directions and ending with Amy to gloat. hee.

As it turns out, my piano teacher's daughter needed a ride home that day from Davis. Coincidence? The holiest kind. haha. So we pick up Katherine and head over to Fuji's. Oh My God. Heaven. Fun for the whole family. Quality sushi. Endless portions. The only thing missing was heapings of Green Tea Ice Cream. Still, pretty damn near perfect. We got Spider hand rolls, Salmon Skin Hand Rolls, Dragon Rolls, Davis Rolls, SASHIMI PLATTERS. These are the perfect ingredients for a FOOD COMA. Guh. Oral Orgasm to the max. Vicky was supposed to meet up with us, except she accidentally locked her keys in the car. Too bad my parent's AAA insurance expired last month. :\

Anyways, on the way home, Katherine is just passed out, and my Dad jokingly suggests climbing Mission Peak. I call him on his bluff, and somehow, now we have both been hooked into climbing it tomorrow. Won't lie, I'm kind of excited. However, keep in mind we are the same people who, just a few years ago, hiked for twenty minutes, decided we were tired, and went to McDonald's instead. Let's see if we can actually make it to the top this time. Picnic, anyone?

It's senior year, and I'm glad I no longer have a demanding schedule every weekend. Surprisingly, I enjoy the extra time I have with my parents. (For the most part, anyways.) On the four hours or so we spent on the car today, we talked about everything -- from silly Asian culture and Amy Tan to American trivia and future college plans. Overall, a very productive Saturday, if I do say so myself.

Let's see what tomorrow brings. :D

HEADACHE.

I came home from school today to discover that I had absolutely no homework whatsoever. So, I took a nap. Pathetic, innit?

Ever since I can remember, I've had migraines. I've been to the doctor a handful of times, even went to the chiropractor for help, but no treatment has been permanent. Usually, I just pop a couple of tylenol, crawl into bed, and call it a day. I've had enough of them to know that they usually occur when I haven't had enough sleep, when it's cold outside, when I've chewed gum the day before, when I've slept in a bad position, etc. etc. etc. Horrible.

Anyways, I gave up coffee last week because I discovered this wretched outbreaking of pimples. I get pimples whenever I don't get my beauty sleep (and let's face it, with this mien, I need a lot of it), and coffee is what I always drink in the morning to avoid a total faceplant come Physics C second period. Thus, Step One: Sleep Earlier, Step Two: Stop Drinking Coffee. My mom thinks its hilarious and now keeps a bag of coffee beans in the car as "air freshener". Jerk. D: Still, I will not be deterred! My face is clearing up, my days are looking up!

However, such great turnouts usually are accompanied by a downside. I now have killer headaches. It's like a hangover, but it doesn't straight up happen in the morning. Water doesn't help. They just sneak up on you...and pounce. I've had them for a week now, hopefully they're dying away. This incessant throbbing makes any attempt at a coherent thought process impossible. Worse than any period, hands down. Guh. The agony.

Today's headache was triggered by an overdose of Mink Fumes. Yes. Those deserve capital letters. I was telling Jimmy about the way the small shoots up your nose and he responded, "Who the hell sticks their face that close?" Well, apparently, I do. The fumes of the formaldehyde, combined with the stench of decomposing mink, shoots up your nose, makes your eyes water, and ultimately, your head hurt. Things weren't helped along by the brain-cell strangling pop test given in Daniell's class the period before. Wit! I CURSE THEE!

Came home. Migraine. Took a nap. Migraine. Woke up. Migraine. Watching House. Migraine. Mother.

This past Sunday, Pastor Quoc called out for "People with Migraines. Headaches that won't go away." Nobody else raised their hand; I've always been a pansy. Damn. Missed out on some healing. haha. But still, damn that man's good.