Enjoyment > Perfection

Hayeon and friend in the makerspace
By Hayeon Lee '23 The extent of my drawing is sketching nice Kirbys or Pokemon; if you told me to draw a hand, I would most gladly produce a stick figure drawing. However, one of my New Year's resolutions this year is to treat myself with kindness and patience. In my journey of healing my inner child, I find myself naturally returning to my hobby of arts and crafts. Whether ...
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Rediscovering the Joy of Music

hand holding heart object with words about creativity and joy
By Serena Lin ‘25 "You cannot count the beats. You must simply feel the music." As someone who is very numbers-based and methodical, this was quite a challenge. There was something stressful about not being able to protocol-ize a music note. As I stumbled through the first semester of my beginner's clarinet lessons, I originally expected just to "get through it" for th...
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A Taste of France in LA!

theater marquee
By Arie Lewis-Pugh ‘26 Last week, I had the opportunity to go on a language excursion hosted by Pomona’s French language resident. We saw the play La Machine de Turing about Alan Turing, the man who solved the German enigma during the second World War and is also credited with creating the earliest version of a computer, which he called “thinking machines.” Though our exc...
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The Glee of Glee Club

Emma under waterfall in blue swimsuit
By Emma Grace Howlett ‘25 Contrary to its name, the Pomona College Glee Club is not a club, nor does it perform elaborately choreographed musical numbers. A long-standing tradition for over 100 years, the Glee Club is the small college chamber choir, and performs an a cappella repertoire of music from the 16th century to the present. Somehow I worked up the courage to auditi...
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Singing Through the Mask

backs of three female singers facing Bridges Hall of Music stage
By Emma Grace Howlett ‘25 When I was ten years old, I auditioned for the Seattle Children’s Chorus with a blanket over my head. I was too shy to sing my audition song, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” and hid underneath my comforting childhood friend, Blankie. With the choir director blocked from view and Blankie’s soft blue fabric creating a calming atmosphere, I was able to ...
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Life at Pomona Is … (as seen through the lens of everyday objects)

collage of images
By Serena Lin '25 As my first year of college comes to a close, I’ve looked back on a folder of photos titled “joys.” Being mindful of memorable moments is a habit that I developed as a busy college student. So here are some vignettes about Pomona through the lens of everyday objects. Birdstrike binocular: why not? On a whim, I reached out to the biology department...
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A Break, A Rediscovery

By Sonam Rikha ‘24 Throughout the entire first semester, all I had on my mind was the days I had left ‘til winter break. Whenever I wasn’t doing homework or studying for an exam, I would fantasize about all the fun things I would do during break. I told myself that I would write a screenplay, finish writing a fantasy book I had started in the summer, apply to a bunch of i...
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Why a Liberal Arts Education Is Like a Thali

Vids and friends arm-in-arm, smiling
By Vidusshi Hingad '25 A liberal arts education is like a thali. I promise you this analogy makes sense—just stick with me! Just like the thali is a large plate in which a plethora of dishes are served, a liberal arts education is like tasting different flavors of areas of knowledge which eventually develop your taste buds to their maximum potential. [At Pomona] you are requ...
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Will I Sound Like Beyoncé?

Sonam in front of microphone
By Sonam Rikha ’24 Have you ever gone on a walk with your friends, and all of a sudden you hear a loud, high-pitched, angelic voice? Chances are, if you followed that voice, you would stumble across a little Asian girl singing at the top of her lungs as her embarrassed brother follows at a distance. Ever since I was a little kid, I loved singing and was pretty open about it....
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Inky Fingers

Studio Art Building
By Jenny Park ‘22 “Mark, I need some help.” My 2D Design professor, Mark Allen, is a character—his funny and quirky demeanor puts anyone at ease. I had wanted to create some prints for a personal project, so naturally he was the first person I went to. We went down to the screen-printing lab and got to work. Screen-printing is a process where you squeegee ink onto a su...
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