From the age of 6, my brother was able to navigate the busy streets of Sacramento. I remember one incident when my mom and brother got lost downtown. Neither my mom or I had a clue about how to reach our destination. But in a few short minutes, my younger Read More…
It’s finally here — my senior year. As I waited in line for L&S advising in Evans Hall to triple-check my graduation requirements, I came into a conversation with a freshman girl from Vietnam. “Do you have a green card?“ she asked. The question took me back for a minute Read More…
As the new school year begins, so does the onslaught of freshmen with the complex mixture of emotions so many of us may recall — a mixture of idealistic hope for success-filled college years and agonizing terror of getting lost in the crowd. Just a few years ago, I remember Read More…
It’s India, in summer 2010. My family and I get a respite from the intense heat and walk into a sari shop, where my mom wants to finish her shopping for the day. We sit down, the shopkeeper brings us various sodas and water. My mother, my brother and I Read More…
I’ll be the first to admit the attitude I developed toward state politics as child was certifiably starry-eyed. I grew up near Sacramento, and it was hard not to be awed by the big white dome downtown. Of course we all grow up, and in politics we grow up fast. Read More…
This column is in response to the article on CNN called India: The Story You Never Wanted to Hear about an American student’s experience with sexual abuse in India. I recently returned from a two-month language-learning scholarship in the state of Punjab in northern India. There, patriarchy acts upon your body: Read More…
August was a good month for me. Not only did I cross 200 followers on Instagram, but I also reached 90 followers on Twitter. Did I follow anyone new last month? Maybe one or two people, but only when it didn’t disrupt my F-to-F (follower to following) ratio. Do my Read More…
Earlier this summer, my friend from home in Houston, Nina, brought me to her college town, a big city down south. After a couple of nights of going out downtown, we met up with some friends we knew from high school and some of their friends whom we had never Read More…
Ten weeks ago, two strangers in a green Volvo picked me up from my house to begin to a life-changing adventure in the northern Sierra Nevada mountains. Our destination was nestled deep in the sleepy town of Meadow Valley: the University of California Forestry Camp, a 98-year-old university-owned camp dedicated Read More…
This last column marks the end of my first summer in Berkeley, and it’s definitely been an interesting one for me. It was my first summer away from home, away from family and away from hometown friends. When I decided to stay in Berkeley and do a summer session to Read More…