Having lived in Claremont for four months now, I find it easy to be “stuck” in our comfortable “Claremont bubble”, whose tranquil cafés, bakeries, and froyo shops have become lovely weekend escape spots. Luckily, I got to explore the surrounding communities, largely through contradance!
Contradance is a form of partnered folk dance whose origin can be traced back to 17-Cent...
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Anecdotes from the Discomfort Zone
One of the ways I like to evaluate the discomfort zone is to complete the following sentences:
“Oh, I’m just not really a ____ person.”
“I just don’t do ____.”
“Nah, there’s no way I could ever ____.”
Growing up, I tried ballet, gymnastics, piano lessons, aikido, youth group, Girl Scouts, clarinet, oboe, the spelling bee, French, and various summer camps. I was thro...
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For the Prospective Student Wondering About Los Angeles
Coming to the US for college was my first time entering this country, and my eager mind was filled with preconceived notions and images of this place, notions created through a childhood diet of Sesame Street and American Idol. Los Angeles was a fantastical place for me, a glamorous city filled with celebrities in sweatshirts walking down sidewalks drinking Starbucks (or, as th...
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What I Wish I Hadn’t Learned
When I first came to Pomona, I was very concerned with how much I would have to learn. I imagined that I would have to cram in order to be academically prepared for my first semester, because I hadn't learned enough in high school.
However, how much I had to learn paled in comparison to how much I had to unlearn. The bad habits, unconsidered assumptions, and false beliefs I ...
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On December 1, 2011, My Entire Life Went for a Spin!
On the first of December, many high-achieving, low-income students around the nation were notified that they had received the QuestBridge National College Match--a free college and scholarship application process that helps outstanding low-income high school seniors gain admission and full four-year scholarships to the nation's most selective colleges. This year, there wer...
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College Application Tips!
1. Brainstorm. We are still teenagers, but we have much experience to write about, both academic and non-academic. The brainstorming process can be very fun, since you get to picture different memories and dig them out from the past. Talk to your family and friends to get a more holistic view of your growth. Think about the moments that sparked your intellectual curiosity, ...
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The Stress of De-stressing: Events at Pomona
Finals week: when picking a de-stressing event is the most stressful aspect of trying to de-stress.
The hardest part about finals isn't really those impending exams and assignments - it's all the beautiful creative performances and events that I'm missing out on when I stay in to finish a Computer Science test program (essentially a take-home midterm to program SpaceInvaders...
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Field Trips and Farms
Over the last couple of weeks, I've been on two very interesting class field trips -- one to a Christian Miao minority village and one to an organic farm.
As part of my Ethnic Minorities in Yunnan class, we visited an isolated Miao (Hmong, in English) village about 3 hours outside of Kunming. Besides honoring Miao traditions, this village was unique in that almost everyone p...
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The Motley Coffeehouse: Where I Spent the Last of my Flex
At what point does something become an obsession? That what I'm constantly wondering these days as I keep finding myself back at The Motley.
Like way too many others, I often put off the majority of my homework for Sunday nights. But after working for a couple hours, there's no better way to take a break (or call it a night) than by going to the Motley at Scripps. Or eve...
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30 Things I’m Thankful for
Sore feet, bulging stomach, exhaustion after Grandma's thorough interrogation, and a sense of complete and utter satisfaction with life. Must mean it's Thanksgiving! Or at least it was a week ago, during a much-needed Thanksgiving break. After being coerced into running the 10k for our Run to Feed the Hungry, I definitely took advantage of our family potluck this Thanksgiving. ...
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