Senior Thoughts: Upon Fourther Reflection

two students doing handstands outside
By Oluyemisi Bolonduro ’23 Salutations! It’s been two years since I’ve written a Voices blog post, but it’s good to be back. A lot has changed since my fun lil’ celebration of finals week, whether it’s academically, developmentally, interpersonally… even extracurricularly, if that’s a word. One thing that’s the same: I still love the number four and using it to frame each co...
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Drawing Conclusions (A Pomona Pals Retrospective)

cartoon images of Ben and Brandolyn
By Ben Baraga ‘24 I don’t know how to draw. My hand’s way too shaky, it’s a lot of work, and half the time I don’t have the confidence to start on a project, let alone keep going after I make a mistake. But the funny thing about the pandemic, especially the pandemic during summer vacation, is that it forces you into such deep boredom that you’re willing to give every failed ...
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Surrounded by Birds and Procrastination

ducks and geese in water
By Sonam Rikha ’24 With finals looming and the bucket-load of assignments professors are piling onto students, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and find procrastination more and more appealing. As a burnt-out first-year dreading the few days I have left to turn in papers and finish projects, I’ve been finding any random reason to push aside my assignments. Today, I convinced my...
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The Art of the Cold DM

Example of Cecil DM
By Sonam Rikha ‘24 Having your first semester of college be online is no easy feat. Whether it’s juggling time zones, Zoom fatigue, or the slow loss of sanity from being at home, Zoom University is definitely not how I imagined my first semester of college. As a person who was heavily dependent on friends and fellow classmates to get through difficult classes in high school,...
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Unpacking the Princess Packs

Oluyemisi in Teacup ride
By Oluyemisi Bolonduro ‘23 My freshman year of high school, there were a few upperclassmen that had themed backpacks. A few had turtle shells; the rest had princess backpacks. I thought it was a fun idea and resolved to do the same by my senior year. The Princess Pack: 1st Edition was the backpack I used my senior year of high school. It had Mulan, Jasmine, Belle, Ariel, ...
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A First-Year Survival Guide to Midterms: Zoom Edition

Sonam giving two thumbs up
By Sonam Rikha ‘24 AHHHHHHHH! Screaming late in the night during the middle of the semester is definitely not ideal. Especially when your family members get out of bed to see why you’re shouting at your laptop and punching the air in frustration. I’d always heard of all-nighters and the grave amount of caffeine that college students consumed to get through midterms, but I...
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Just Another Tuesday

illustration of a pig in gladiator helmet
By Bryce Kelly ‘23 Illustrations by Teodelina Martelli '23 My housemate just knocked on my door, walked into my room, proceeded to rant about the meaning of life for five minutes, walked back into the hall, and closed the door behind him. This is the fourth day in a row he’s done something like that. Yesterday the talk was about the ego and the id. The day before that, ps...
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Zoom University: College of Pomona

Friends from French, featuring Oliver bunny
By Oluyemisi Bolonduro ‘23 Did you know I’ve never had my first day of classes on Pomona’s campus? Freshman year I started the semester walking to my class at CMC with my roommate, who was walking to Pitzer. This time around, we were chillin’ in our rooms at home, and I sent her a message that said, “annnddd this year it’s on zoom :,,,))”. I don’t know anybody who genuinely ...
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A Runner’s Reflection

By Oluyemisi Bolonduro '23 My senior year of high school, I planned on quitting track. I doubted my capabilities too much to consider being a college athlete, so I was already anticipating the end to my competitive career. When it came to hurdles, my main event, I could never three-step through all ten hurdles (the shortest, most efficient number of steps between each hurdle...
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Dating in Claremont: A Semi-Exhaustive List of First Date Ideas

Rat figures at the Farm
By Elias van Emmerick ‘21 Pomona is called the Paris of the West about as often as it is referred to as the Venice of the Even More West: rarely. In my opinion, unjustly so. Claremont has an abundance of romantic cafés, swoon-worthy views, and of course, lovely people. This cornucopia of charm is not always a blessing–it can be hard to decide on a place to take that special ...
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