(e)Books vs. Audiobooks

Now that I have some time before my job starts, I have somewhat of a mini summer vacation to tuck into to some books. Every summer while I was an undergrad, I was either taking class or interning or both, so it’s nice to have a few weeks to relax and not think about studying.

I’ve picked up a few new books to read, including Mindy Kaling’s “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?” and “Forrest Gump” (the book before the movie). I read most of my books on my iPad now since it’s faster to download them and it’s cheaper than buying a physical book. I also have a bad habit of reading several books at the same time so it’s nice not having to carry around three different books.

I find that I still have a strange nostalgia towards certain books. I’ve reread the entire Harry Potter series a few times through and even though I have them as eBooks, I still reach for the hardcover books I own when I feel like reading them again. I guess it’s because I associate certain memories with reading those books like when my sister and I read the entire 7^th book in the car after we bought it, switching off every chapter so that no one would get ahead. Or reading the 4^th book in a shopping cart at Costco while my mom pushed us around. I don’t get so attached to my eBooks, maybe because I haven’t had as much time to read or maybe I can only really read on my iPad indoors because of the backlighting so there isn’t as much opportunity to run around with my “books.”

Last year, I also started listening to audiobooks. I was hesitant to do so at first because I’m usually pretty restless and find it hard to concentrate on one single thing for long periods of time. As I’m writing this post, I’m watching Video Game High School (which is an incredible movie. I highly recommend it. Incredible in a "completely funded by Kickstarter and created by YouTube stars" kind of way. Just watch it.), I have a Photoshop file open for this post, I occasionally scroll through Tumblr, and I’m building a new playlist on Spotify (follow me here!). Something about our millenials I guess - the generation of multitaskers. I’ve found that I like listening to audiobooks as I fall asleep. It’s the only time where I have nothing else to think about and can just listen to the book. But the problem is, it’s hard for me to listen to “new books” – i.e. books I haven’t read before. I’ve listened to series that I’ve read at least once, like “The Hunger Games,” or “The Great Gatsy,” or more recently, the entire “Series of Unfortunate Events.” But listening to a new book makes me anxious because I feel the need to stay up and not miss a detail. Listening to a book I’ve read before helps lull me to sleep, and it makes for some pretty awesome dreams too!

What do you prefer? A hardcover book? An eBook? An audiobook?

Which would you rather? I'm going to go ahead and say this is one of my weaker Photoshop attempts...

H = S – F

At my school’s general commencement, we had the pleasure of having Steven Wozniak as the keynote speaker. One of the things that was prominent with everyone in the audience was his equation H = S – F, where H = Happiness, S = Smiles, and F = Frowns. It seems like such a simple equation when you think about it. As long as the moments of smiles outweigh your moments of frowns, your happiness level should remain relatively high. Wozniak went on to explain that it’s not always about the exact moment that makes you smile or frown, but instead, looking back whether it makes you smile or frown.

One particular example that I thought of was my love/hate relationship with running. I’ve tried to make running part of my new workout regime and it’s a really difficult thing for me to do. While I’m running, there’s plenty of frowning going on but when I look back and see how many miles I’ve run or how far I’ve come from only being able to run one 13 minute mile, I smile.

Another point of this equation that makes it so poignant is its subjectivity. What works for you might not work for someone else. And I think that’s a piece of advice I often forget. What makes me smile may not make another person smile and the Woz touched upon the differences of each individual and to quote Dave Mason: “There ain’t no good guys/ There ain’t no bad guys/There’s only you and me/ And we just disagree.”

We were so lucky to have someone as well known as Steven Wozniak speak at our commencement. I even had the chance to hear Governor Jerry Brown speak at my political science commencement as well! The Woz was a great speaker and really used his humor to deliver a speech that was inspiring, witty, and profound.

You can watch some of the highlights of his speech here:

Grad Vs. Alumna

Is it just me or does the word alumna sound much more sophisticated than grad/graduate? Just a random musing in the middle of the day…

Perhaps it’s because the word “grad” is in undergrad and that just makes me think of being a college student and all that partying and the “before you turn 21” stuff. And “grad” student means you’re still in school so you’re not yet in the post-schooling era. Something about “alumna” sounds so final, like you’ve accomplished something.

Alumna also has that nice Latin ring to it and sounds like you’re saying something foreign and exotic. What do you think? Do you prefer telling people you’re a university grad or alumna?

Evidently my Photoshop skills are limited to text on backgrounds.

Being a New Cal Grad

I guess I should finally talk about the topic my entire blog is founded on: being a new graduate.

A little bit about where I went to school and how I got there: I’ve been in the Bay Area my entire life. Born, raised, and still here for now. I’ve moved once in my life within the same city because my parents wanted me to attend a more competitive high school. I grew up visiting UC Berkeley because my dad had attended the school for his PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and to be honest, it was on my last of list of schools to attend just because I a) didn’t want to follow my dad and b) because I was pretty drawn to the idea of a pretty, private school. My parents’ rule had been: you don’t get to visit the school till you get into the school. Which sounds like a pretty stern rule but if you think about it, it’s fair. Why fall in love with a school that you might not get into? So my second semester senior year, I had the opportunity to travel to Missouri and New York and SoCal (not a state, I know) and set my heart on some pretty expensive schools. When Cal Day came around (Cal’s HUGE open house), I didn’t even want to take the time to visit. I thought I’d seen it all. But my mom woke up a begrudging me on Cal Day (http://calday.berkeley.edu/) and when I walked into Haas Pavilion and watched the Men’s Octet sing and saw the campus decked out in blue and gold, I was sold.

I think secretly, or not so secretly, I was a little worried about straying too far from home since I’ve never been too far from home before. I’ve been away from home before but not for long extended periods of time. Additionally, I was admitted as a Spring Admit and I felt a bit strange not starting school with everyone else I knew. Luckily, the whole Spring Admit thing worked out in my favor and I was able to travel for a full semester while taking classes online at a community college. Traveling abroad let me experience living away from home and I found out I adapted well to it. After starting at Cal in the Spring of 2010, I was pretty used to living on my own and Cal wasn’t too far away from home so if I needed to, I could always make a quick trip home.

Graduating from Cal has given me a broad education and new insight into so many things. Despite it being known as a highly liberal college, one of my favorite professors, Professor Dan Schnur (@danschnur), was a Republican but taught his political science class with such non-partisan bias that you could never tell. He could play Devil’s Advocate to both sides and it was evident that he loved politics and not partisanship. I’ve learned about Southeast Asian politics and campaign strategies. I’ve met international students and students who write bills. Being at a large, public school has given me the opportunity to branch out and meet people in an expansive way.

California Memorial Stadium on my graduation day. 

I dreaded writing this post because everything I say sounds so hopelessly shallow. I’m not even sure how to explain why I’m so proud to be a graduate of the UC Berkeley class of 2013 but telling people that gives me an innate sense of pride. I wanted to start this blog so I could convey a sense of what it’s like to be a new graduate but at the moment, I’m not so sure what that means myself. Hopefully with more posts to come, I’ll get a better idea of what it really means to be a graduate of 2013.

Skills to Pay the Bills

I came across this article (Class of 2013: Master These 15 Simple Skills) while updating my LinkedIn profile this morning and gave it a read. I think a lot of these things are particularly relevant and while some of them apply more to new grads, others are great skills to hone regardless of your age. Here are my top three favorites from his article:

1. Pursue your passions – this seems to be the quote of the year. I heard it at my commencement from both the keynote speaker (Steve Wozniak!) and our young alumna speaker (Brianna Keilar). They both stressed the importance of doing something you love and doing work that doesn’t feel like work. We’ve heard it all before: about how our generation has it tougher than ever when it comes to finding a job and how most graduates have come to settle for any job, much less fathom finding their “dream job.” But why settle for 8 hours of mediocrity a day? The mounting pressure to have a job secured by the end of graduation often means graduates aren’t finding jobs that they love, but instead, jobs they qualify for. The bottom line is, time isn’t the problem anymore. Spend the time to find what you love and work won’t be work.

2. Take care of yourself – I’ve never had much trouble with my health in terms of weight and exercise. In high school, I was part of a competitive dance group and we practice 10 or more hours a week. In college, I was again part of the dance team so I had my exercise taken care of for me. After the dance team season ended my senior year, my lifestyle became instantaneously more sedentary. I have, however, discovered yoga and running and of course Lululemon, and so I now have to be the scheduler of my own exercise regime. I’ve never had much freedom in my workout regime and it’s both daunting and thrilling. Taking care of yourself is key because without a strong bill of health, you can’t work to your full potential and it’s often a piece of advice that is overlooked.

3. Write – “Writing is a lost art - and the truth is, no matter what your job, industry or career, it's beneficial to become a better writer.” As I’m writing this blog post, I’m coming to realize how much I love writing. It’s been easier writing almost 500 words in this instance than some of my papers in college. In a letter I wrote to myself at the end of my senior year in high school, I emphatically stated that I loved writing. After taking a few classes in college, I really struggled with certain paper topics and it was mostly because I couldn’t immerse myself in the topic. But when I took a class on southeast Asian politics, those papers came so easily to me. Five pages took me maybe 5 hours time and I wanted to sit and edit it all day. I guess writing goes back to pursuing your passions. If you love what you’re writing about, it’s not hard at all.

Those were my favorite pieces of advice from Dave Kerpern’s article. What about yours?

Not only am I blogging more, I'm also going to attempt to sharpen my Photoshop skills. So bear with me.