It's finally Bruin Day! Thank you for joining me this week as I reminisced about all the awesome moments I've had the privilege to capture at UCLA. If you need to get caught up, here's
post #1,
post #2,
post #3, and
post #4. This is post #5, the last one in this series.
It's been interesting and fascinating to see how much work and effort it takes an entire university to put together a day like this. All the tents have been set up in various locations across campus since Wednesday, tables and chairs laid out near the tents, lawns trimmed, and buildings looking marvelous as usual. Tons and tons of students and employees decked out in bright yellow shirts, dining halls with increased hours of operations just to prepare for the influx of about 15,000 visitors. I like to think of this weekend as the great battle of Hogwarts, minus the violence. It's really just about everyone doing their part to make UCLA the great place it is.
Looking back, I never truly understood what it meant when I submitted my statement of intent to register and officially became a Bruin.
Let me show you what high school senior Jennifer was like:
At the time, I was thankful and excited to be able to attend UCLA, which was basically just a super prestigious school in my mind. I didn't know what it would be like. I could picture attending classes and meeting new people, but everything else was a foggy jumble of non-existing memories, yet to be formed, and experiences yet to happen. I was just happy to be almost done with high school, SATs, and college applications. (Class of 2019, you know what I'm talking about.)
Most people decide to SIR after they see the campus and visit the dorms and lecture halls. But for me, the decision to attend UCLA was not complicated. I knew I wanted to study out-of-state (I'm from Arizona) and I knew UCLA was one of the shining gifts God had given me; it was the opportunity of a lifetime. When I came to visit campus, I had already SIRed. How funny!
Two years ago, if you asked me what I was looking forward to most about college, I probably would have answered with a few lines about freedom, being far-ish from home, new friends, and freedom. (Haha, I promise I wasn't that rebellious.)
But if you asked me today what I love most about UCLA, I would probably link you to
a video like this, and tell you that I truly believe that God has a plan for me, and He's sovereignly allowed me to go here. He's blessed me with deep friendships, a tight knit community, and a place to learn how to think. I've truly understood the meaning of being a Bruin - that it doesn't mean you have the highest GPA, or the bulkiest resume, but that you are striving for excellence, and are learning to not always have the right answer, because sometimes, there isn't one.
With that said, welcome new bruins, and enjoy #bruinday!
