The OD Life

I just finished a mixed sophomore semester at Cal. I call it mixed because it had many ups and downs. Academically I failed, but I learned a lot more about myself in the process of the failure. I learned that I enjoyed and hated recruiting at the same time, and I learned that it will be difficult for me to derive satisfaction from the career I previously wanted to. But let's hold back from that and show some highlights of the semester. Highlights: Moving out of this: into something more like this: Our apartment was the perfect place for our group to cultivate stronger relationships through In-N-Out runs, NBA2K19 battles, and competitive ping pong tournaments. Recruiting: Looking for an internship for the upcoming semester was my main priority for the summer and I was very lucky to have locked down an offer that I am incredibly excited for. Working for a company like Nike has always been a dream because of the sheer influence the brand has. Although recruiting was...

I now realize Freshman year was not my first semesters of college; my Sophomore year was. These past 6 months changed me more than any other time period in my life. It's when I truly became independent, took a workload past my comfort zone, and embraced all that I've failed and succeeded at in UC Berkeley.  Work and Internships:   In Freshman year, I took for granted how difficult and competitive it was to find a summer internship, and as a result, I did not land any offers and settled for taking summer classes instead. However, my summer at Berkeley set me up for the fall semester better than I could have ever imagined, bringing in plenty of new friends, opportunities, and experiences in my life (which will be visited in much more detail later). For example, I won the "Outstanding Academic Intern Award" in Summer 2019, which led to being hired as a course staff tutor during the fall. As a result, I am closer to my goal of becoming a TA someday and was much mo...