the life of chao(s)

the life of chao(s)

welcome to the sanctuary where
my mind vomits into cyberspace,
and every day is a good day :)


ABOUT ME

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the little moments

It was just nine months ago when I sat in my bedroom at home in Arcadia to pack my life into a few suitcases to fly east and move into my dorm at Princeton. And last week leading up to my flight back to LA, I, once again, packed my life into suitcases and boxes- this time to move to a downtown Manhattan apartment.

These last nine months have gone by so quickly, and my experience here on the east coast in has been truly transformative. If you told me last August that I would start calling Princeton my home, I wouldn’t believe you. But as I packed, watched my friends leave campus, and left Princeton myself on a cloudy Thursday afternoon for Newark Airport, I realized that Princeton has truly become my home away from home.

Somewhere between surviving Hurricane Katia on a week-long backpacking trip and spending late nights/early mornings writing papers in the Rocky-Mathey library, Princeton has managed to lead me on an unbelievable adventure of intellectual growth and personal development.

But what I’ve realized is that, though my classes and extracurriculars have been a huge part of my experience at Princeton, the defining aspects are really the simple, small, everyday moments. They seem insignificant at the time, but in retrospect, trigger powerful memories and smiles.

So let’s talk about those moments.

I still remember the restless butterflies in my stomach when my mom drove onto campus on move-in day. I smile thinking about the laughter and deep bond that followed the discovery of a misplaced item of clothing the night before we left for OA. I still can’t believe a morning jog down to Lake Carnegie was the catalyst for a lifelong friendship.

It’s about those lazy afternoons spent lounging on Alexander Beach just because it was a beautiful day. It’s about those late-night talks that happen when you should be doing homework. It’s about running outside at 3am because it started snowing (you don’t understand how exciting snowfall is for Californians).

Thank you to the friends who brought me Starbucks before my all-nighters in the Buyers basement. Mock trial prep on Friday nights/Saturday mornings in various hotel lobbies was painful at the time, but hilarious now (New Haven La Quinta, anyone?). And who can forget lolling through finals period with caffeine and unjustified study breaks? Lolling is now my favorite pastime.

It’s fascinating that such small, seemingly insignificant moments can come to define an entire year. Looking back, these moments, both good and bad, come together to breathe life, energy, and depth into my journey to find a home away from home.

And I have found that home. 

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late night musings

It’s reading period, and I have been sitting in the same chair in Rocky-Mathey Library for the last four days losing a staring contest with Microsoft Word. Unfortunately, my papers aren’t going to write themselves, which means I have to make a serious commitment to sit and write for the ten days we have for reading period.

As aggravating as it is to write papers and study for exams, something I really enjoy about midterms and finals is this silently supportive camaraderie we share as we all live through the stresses and struggles of Dean’s Date papers and final exams. We each have this mutual understanding of the challenges ahead, and share congratulations and high fives for every finished draft or computer program. And who can forget the countless caffeine runs to Starbucks? Good thing it is frappy hour this week… (PS. thank you Jamie for the Starbucks sitting next to me right now.)

And as I sit here largely motionless for days on end, I’ve lost track of how quickly the rest of the world is moving. Getting texts from friends back home who have already finished their freshman year and moved out is so strange because it’s hard to believe that we are already done with an entire year of college. Before I know it, I’ll be flying back home too (it’s just under two weeks away!), and I couldn’t be more excited to be back in Arcadia to see family and friends.

I just have to survive the next two weeks. Okay, this was a really disjointed post. Back to writing my term papers I go… 

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A few days ago, we picked classes for sophomore year. Wait what? I’m almost a sophomore? Ensue identity crisis. The fact that we just picked classes for next semester means that week twelve starts tomorrow- the last week of classes for this semester. As quickly as these twelve weeks flew by, it’s pretty cool to look back to February 6 (just three months ago) and realize how little I knew in comparison to now. I have learned so much about the history of the corporation, the politics of global warming, ethics and public policy, witnessing disaster, and the politics of law just in the past twelve weeks. Going through the daily motions of reading books, writing papers, and having class discussions kind of blinds you from realizing how much you actually learn in such a short period of time. It’s like how when you were eight, you didn’t realize how quickly you grew because the daily change you see in the mirror is minimal. But by the time you are fourteen, you look back on your eight year old self and wonder how you were able to change so dramatically. I guess I never really stopped to think about it, but each of the eight semesters that we have in college are valuable opportunities to learn and grow- both scholarly and as an individual. There are always moments (mostly at 4am) when classes seem like the most aggravating thing, but I hope I will always remember how precious they can be. 

A few days ago, we picked classes for sophomore year.

Wait what? I’m almost a sophomore? Ensue identity crisis.

The fact that we just picked classes for next semester means that week twelve starts tomorrow- the last week of classes for this semester. As quickly as these twelve weeks flew by, it’s pretty cool to look back to February 6 (just three months ago) and realize how little I knew in comparison to now. I have learned so much about the history of the corporation, the politics of global warming, ethics and public policy, witnessing disaster, and the politics of law just in the past twelve weeks.

Going through the daily motions of reading books, writing papers, and having class discussions kind of blinds you from realizing how much you actually learn in such a short period of time. It’s like how when you were eight, you didn’t realize how quickly you grew because the daily change you see in the mirror is minimal. But by the time you are fourteen, you look back on your eight year old self and wonder how you were able to change so dramatically.

I guess I never really stopped to think about it, but each of the eight semesters that we have in college are valuable opportunities to learn and grow- both scholarly and as an individual. There are always moments (mostly at 4am) when classes seem like the most aggravating thing, but I hope I will always remember how precious they can be. 

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Spring is finally in full bloom here on the east coast! The good news? I survived my first winter! I think that deserves some recognition in itself… This time of year is especially beautiful on campus as the thin, scraggly branches find definition and color. And the sun is finally back out breathing warmth into the crisp air! This past Friday afternoon, I lounged out on the lawn under the sun (with readings, of course) which was such a nice change from my usual homework spot- the dreary basement of my dorm. Just as the flowers have bloomed, new opportunities have also opened up in recent weeks. I decided to spend the summer interning at the New York District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan. I don’t know whether I will be doing investigative or trial work, but I am just so excited to be working on real cases with prosecutors. The program also has planned trips to places like Riker’s Island (real-life Law & Order, anyone? I did ask to be placed in the Special Victims Unit…), which will help make this an awesome experience. This is also the season of welcoming admitted students to Princeton, which is so much fun (I’m looking forward to Princeton Preview in less than two weeks!). Every time I give a tour or tell pre-frosh about my experience at Princeton, I’m reminded of how much I love this school, and how grateful I am to be here.  It’s also exciting to hear from my friends back home still in high school about college acceptances. The decisions that you guys will all make in the next few weeks will actually have a huge impact on who you are and what path your life takes, so do not make those decisions lightly.  And when I give my high school friends advice about choosing a college and hear them talking about graduating, I stop and realize that it has been an entire year since I went through the same thing. Wow. Has it really been an entire year? It’s hard to believe that we are already in April.  April means that there are only a few more weeks of class, then finals, then summer, and then sophomore year. But despite the fact that life seems to be moving at record speed, things have been shaping up and working out nicely. And while I may not have time to stop and catch my breath, I guess I don’t mind how fast things are moving- it makes life exciting :)

Spring is finally in full bloom here on the east coast! The good news? I survived my first winter! I think that deserves some recognition in itself…

This time of year is especially beautiful on campus as the thin, scraggly branches find definition and color. And the sun is finally back out breathing warmth into the crisp air! This past Friday afternoon, I lounged out on the lawn under the sun (with readings, of course) which was such a nice change from my usual homework spot- the dreary basement of my dorm.

Just as the flowers have bloomed, new opportunities have also opened up in recent weeks. I decided to spend the summer interning at the New York District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan. I don’t know whether I will be doing investigative or trial work, but I am just so excited to be working on real cases with prosecutors. The program also has planned trips to places like Riker’s Island (real-life Law & Order, anyone? I did ask to be placed in the Special Victims Unit…), which will help make this an awesome experience.

This is also the season of welcoming admitted students to Princeton, which is so much fun (I’m looking forward to Princeton Preview in less than two weeks!). Every time I give a tour or tell pre-frosh about my experience at Princeton, I’m reminded of how much I love this school, and how grateful I am to be here. 

It’s also exciting to hear from my friends back home still in high school about college acceptances. The decisions that you guys will all make in the next few weeks will actually have a huge impact on who you are and what path your life takes, so do not make those decisions lightly. 

And when I give my high school friends advice about choosing a college and hear them talking about graduating, I stop and realize that it has been an entire year since I went through the same thing. Wow. Has it really been an entire year? It’s hard to believe that we are already in April. 

April means that there are only a few more weeks of class, then finals, then summer, and then sophomore year. But despite the fact that life seems to be moving at record speed, things have been shaping up and working out nicely. And while I may not have time to stop and catch my breath, I guess I don’t mind how fast things are moving- it makes life exciting :)

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