I’ve previously written about being tall and taller.
As I’ve been walking around in different parts of China, one thing’s very apparent: I’m tall.
The average height in China is definitely lower than in America. Pretty much everywhere I go (subway, shopping malls, restaurants, etc), I look around, and I’m the tallest person there.
It’s a little weird to stick out, but I guess it’s a cool perspective to have?
I’m in China for three weeks to visit relatives and do a little sightseeing. Most of my mom’s side of family, including grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, live in or around Guangzhou, so that’s where I’ll be staying for most of the trip.
My last trip to China was in the summer of 2005, and a lot has changed since then. For one, the exchange rate for the US dollar fell from 8 RMB to 6.4 RMB. Sucks for us Americans, but good for Chinese I guess. Also, I graduated high school, and started and graduated college. My cousins in China have finished college and moved on to work. It’s been a fast six years, and nice to finally be back.
My mom and I flew over a couple days ago. A few quick thoughts:
- Airplane food still sucks. The cup of noodles that they served as a snack was the best food from the flight.
- Airplane entertainment rocks. Each seat had a personal entertainment system, complete with movies, TV shows, games, and more. It was pretty easy to pass the 14 hours watching The King’s Speech and Black Swan movies, Modern Family and How I Met Your Mother episodes, and playing some tetris and poker.
- Family is always awesome. It’s great to see relatives that you haven’t seen in a while.
- There’s a whole lot of smog here in China. Look outside and I see gray skies all around.
Over the last couple days, I finished up graduation week, moved my things out of my apartment, and closed the chapter on college.
Cal has been such a journey, adventure, and challenge all wrapped into one amazing experience. There are some things I kind of regret doing, some things I wish I’d done, but I wouldn’t trade these memories for the world.
Believe it or not, I was actually thisclose to going to UCLA, but decided to stay close to home. My freshman year, I kind of regretted this decision. But through my time here at Cal, I know I made the right choice.
Classes were tough and the most competitive I’d ever been in. Sometimes it brought out my competitive fire. Other times it just plain frustrated me. And a couple times, it pushed me to switch majors. But through classes, I was able to discover and learn things that I felt strongly about.
I went from an intended Molecular Cell Biology major hoping to become a cancer researcher my freshman year to a graduating Business Administration and Public Health double major excited to make an impact in the health and non-profit world. Classes at Berkeley really changed me and showed me my true passions. I’m going to really miss just simply being in class, listening to a professor lecture.
Being my busy self, I also kept active outside of school, taking part in DeCal Board, Cal Do Something, Student Health Advisory Committee, and Camp Kesem. I’ve had the privilege and honor of meeting, working with, and becoming friends with some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. You guys are all going to go really far in life and create change, I know it. Yup, you. I can’t wait to see the impact you make on the world.
My work outside of classes kept things exciting and I think I probably learned more through it than in the classroom. A lot of that real-world, practical doing can’t be done through textbooks and lectures. You have to actually go do it. I feel fortunate to have been at a university bustling with student activity, with clubs and organizations to fit any passion I wanted to pursue.
I think my friend said it best with “there’s nowhere else I’d rather have learned to live.” Good or bad, Berkeley has taught me a lot about life.
But now it’s on to bigger and better things.
Goodbye, Cal. Until we meet again…
It won’t ever be the same, but thank you so much for the experiences and the memories :)
Yesterday, I walked at UC Berkeley’s general commencement and officially graduated from college.
I can’t believe that it just happened. Four years has flown by.
The day started early in the morning with a Camp Kesem coordinator breakfast, where the non-graduating coordinators presented the graduating coordinators with personalized stoles and an amazing video they made for us :) I am going to miss each of them and everyone and everything about Kesem so much…
Camp Kesem coordinator graduates (Photo credit: Aparna Bhat)
On the way toward Edwards Stadium to line up and walk across the stage, the significance of the moment finally started to sink in. This was it. Such big changes are ahead. No more school. Possibly ever.
I felt such a weird feeling. A mix of excitement, unease, disbelief, and happiness, all jumbled inside of me.
It was fun to walk with some of my closest friends at Cal, from Camp Kesem, and having our camp names announced :) “Stanley Flash Quan.” Makes sense that they were included actually, since it’s been such a large part of our college lives over the past few years.
As we turned our tassels from right to left, we graduated! Long commencement, but proud to be a part of it.
Wow, just changed from Cal student to Cal alumnus. What a day.
As announced at general commencement, Maureen Peeps Walsh, Caitlin Maple Bruffey, Aparna Jazzle Bhat, Savayia Snaps Singh, and Stanley Flash Quan have graduated :)
What would the world look like without moms?
Love you, Mom
You’ve always been there whenever I’ve needed a pep-talk, a shoulder to lean on, a disapproving look, an approving look, a smile, a hug… Thank you for everything. I wouldn’t be where I am today without your guidance, love, and support.
Happy Mother’s Day!
