August 27, 2012 – 10:02 am
For the first time since 2003, I got on an airplane for a non-academic or athletic reason. Strict vacation. Let me tell you, it was needed.
I spent the week lying by the beach. It was absolutely beautiful. Warm, crystal clear water. A pool with a walk-in style entry with special chairs made to put in the pool. Awhile back I had to read “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” for my Introduction to Scandinavian Literature course, so I was happy to have time to finish off the last two books of the series. It was fitting that the main character happened to be island hopping in the Caribbean at the beginning of the second book.
I was also impressed with the amount of reptiles. Lizards, geckos and iguanas seem to be abundant. They crawl across pathways and even over feet with no fear of humans.
Go Bruins!
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August 16, 2012 – 1:22 pm
It seems every student at UCLA has their moment where they pass by a big time celebrity, or get to be on a tv show or music video. My big tv moment came when my friend invited me to go to Raging Waters, a water park just outside Los Angeles, to eat desserts. I did not really know what she meant, but free entrance to a water park and desserts on a three-day weekend seemed like a win to me.
Turns out, it was an episode of one of the spin-offs from “Top Chef.” After a dramatic staged entrance running under a waterfall, I enjoyed desserts from the competitors and discussed what I liked about them. Finally, I was asked to wait at a stand to grab a dessert as the judges were walking in. I spent the rest of the day enjoying the water park which also included unfortunate footage of me going down a waterslide. To spare the details, this event always provides me with a go-to embarrassing story during ice breaker games.
I have never watched the episode, or found out the results. Any dessert is great to me. Go Bruins!
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August 10, 2012 – 8:51 am
Tuesday was a very special occasion- I turned 21! Now I can check into all the hotel rooms I want without worrying about check-in age. The day started off great with the United States winning two medals in my favorite sport. Later on, I had a great home cooked meal with some close friends.
It is starting to hit me that my time at UCLA is coming to an end. I do not think I could have found a better fit for my undergraduate education. Every year has gotten better- and I can not wait for another year to get started. I get a bit overwhelemed when I think about how lucky I am to be able to be a bruin. I remember walking on to campus after being accepted my senior year of high school and just getting a big smile on my face. I know when picking a school it is easy to get caught up in rankings, certain program offerings and other variables. It is important to take a step back and find the school that fits you best. Interests will change, career goals will be modified, and adversities will be faced. But, these past three years have taught me that being in the right environment is much more conducive to success.
Go Bruins!
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Continuing off my last blog, after making it to NorCal, I have been overwhelmed with the amount of fresh fruit. The Central Valley is certainly living up to its reputation. I don’t think I can even list all of the fruit that is growing in the backyard. Grapefruit, figs, white nectarines, yellow nectarines, peaches, a vine of grapes and more. The problem is I am one person, and there seems to be hundreds of fruit. I have packaged a lot for neighbors, but there still seems to be an endless amount falling onto the ground. I guess I should make jam, but I don’t know if I am that talented. I did make some really good peach cobbler.
I know I will be missing this endless supply of free fruit when fall rolls around, so I am definitely appreciating it now!
Go Bruins!
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I had a rather eventful drive to NorCal. Just as I passed the junction between the 99 and the 5, the check oil level light flashed on in my car. With about fifty miles to Bakersfield, I got a little worried. Now, my dad had been bugging me since spring break to get my oil changed. But, I was busy and traveling. Then the car passed 100,000 miles and needed servicing anyway so I figured I would just do everything at once. Needless to say, I was starting to regret that.
Anyway, I pulled off at the next exit and hoped that the gas station would have a service shop attached. No such luck. Now, as someone who doesn’t like dealing with cars at all, I am proud to say that I was able to go into the store, buy some oil, pop the hood and pour it in. I don’t think that is the best way to go for the car, but it served until I reached my next destination. Needless to say, I have since got the tune up done.
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I had the pleasure of judging the National Championships for trampoline last weekend. It was pretty awesome to be able to decide who got to be the national champion, and really fun to meet and work with people from all over the country. It was a bit surreal to be back after competing in the meet multiple times forever ago, but it was a completely different experience. When you are competing, you are on the floor for twenty minutes to do your routine and you remember every moment of what is happening. When judging, you are watching hours of the same routine over and over again and at the end of the day, it all just blurs together!
The meet was held in the Long Beach Arena, which is literally right on the ocean and fairly close to UCLA! Long Beach has some fun stuff to do- they have an amazing aquarium and the Queen Mary is housed there. There is also a defunct amusement park which has turned into tons of restaurants and a movie theater. All that is left is a fake roller coast track which is really walkway, and a Ferris wheel. Go Bruins!
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UCLA Athletics offers several clinics and summer camps throughout the year in fifteen sports for pre-collegiate athletes. They serve as potential recruiting opportunities, or just a fun activity for a young kid to try. This past weekend I coached and counseled at the gymnastics camp. Counseling at UCLA was a larger responsibility then my previous experience at Woodward, mainly since UCLA is an open campus, it is necessary to watch the kiddos at all times. Ages varied from seven to high school aged kids.
Since Yates Gym is under construction this summer to build a new locker room, we built an entire gym in Collins Court for the duration of camp. Man, was set up tiring. I spent over seven hours moving equipment into a building, placing mats in the correct position and putting springs in a trampoline. I cannot describe how sore I was the next day, but there was no time to dwell on that since camp started!
Campers arrived early the next morning and we rushed them to the gym. After two days of workouts, we had a skit night and dance party. Overall, camp was a great experience and another opportunity for us to show how great UCLA is to future Bruins.
Go Bruins!
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Chances are on most weekends throughout the school year, I am judging a gymnastics meet. It is the dream college student job; I get paid and fed. To keep my judges certification, I am required to do a certain number of continuing education hours. Some of these can be met by in-gym observation, but a certain number designated as “clinic hours” can only be earned through attendance at National Congress. Lucky for me, National Congress coincided with the US Olympic Trials, and was only a short trip away in San Jose. During the day I attended what essentially is gymnastics school. I listened to the updates for the 2013 season and watched some of the greatest coaches lecture on technique and drills. At night, I attended the competition.
Olympic Trials have to be one of the most exciting competitions- only five people out of the tens of thousands of gymnasts can make the team. This year was particularly heartbreaking as veterans including the 2008 Olympic Champion Nastia Liukin failed to make the team. I was really excited to watch one of our former Bruins, Anna Li, sneak onto the team in the alternate spot. Her bar routine is one of the most difficult in the world.
Go Bruins!
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On my way home from camp last weekend, I visited Gettysburg for the first time. I was really, really excited to see it! I absolutely love learning about the Civil War and will admit to watching Ken Burns Civil War Documentary at home for fun.
I had a rather short visit since my sister was not thrilled with my excitement, but I still saw where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address and where the men lined up for Picket’s Charge. I once wrote a paper on the Battle of Little Round Top, so that was a must see as well. It truly was captivating to stand on the top of the hill and look down. I think I got the chills.
To complete my east coast adventure, I ventured to Old Town in Alexandria, Virginia. Alexandria is also extremely historic, and includes the childhood home of Robert E. Lee.
Go Bruins!
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UCLA Undergraduate Admissions
Hannah Bernosky
Jamie Campbell
Eleanor Fang
Charley Guptill
Steven Simons
Rebecca Winkle
Hayoung Youn
