Best Part of my Weekend
If there’s one thing I tend to forget about when the arduous academic year consumes me, it’s probably my family. I’m ashamed to announce this, but it’s probably true. When 3 calls turns into 2 calls, and eventually becomes 1 short phone call per week, that warm and dear family feeling slowly dissipates. All throughout Freshmen year, I dedicated 99.9% of my time to academics and ABA. Every minute of those days seemed to be allocated to something, and I would attribute my lack of communication to all the meetings and homework I had to deal with. I would unknowingly disregard them and take them for granted. How insensible of me.
This summer has been rough. 3 classes. 2 of which are upper-divs and condensed in a month. But for some reason, I’ve come to appreciate my parents and sister so much more than I did all of last year.
So today, I would like to reflect on a warm and dear family-filled day I had in Berkeley. Although they were only here for 2 hours, I was excited to spend time with and update them on the ups & downs of the week. Sabrina, who I surprisingly don’t spend a lot of time with even when I’m at home, had a lot to tell me about her new job and how she got a free HD FlipCam from her company. I’m really proud of what she’s done and the strides she’s taken to obtain a promising career so that she can help out our family’s finances. Mom, as always, was super meticulous about where things were placed in the apartment and about the details of 5 days worth of food she brought for me. And dad, he was the usual, chill and carefree kinda guy who listens to all the concerns I have so he can figure out a way to make life a little easier on me. Together, we trekked to Jamba Juice to use the 2 for $5 coupon and to YogurtLand (because dad doesn’t drink Jamba). On the way there and back, I can sense a bit of joy & happiness in each one of them. I see smiles that I don’t always see and I feel like I’m living in a million-dollar moment in life. It doesn’t matter how much homework I have or what duties I’ve yet to fulfill because at that moment, I’m spending time with the most important people in my life.
And as always, it was time to reenter the busy world. Sabrina told me to take care and she’ll see me later. Mom stuffed two packs of Peach Rings into my hands and hugged me. And Dad, he just says okay, bye. Every time they drive 1 hour up to Berkeley just to see me, I find myself pretty emotional when I say my goodbyes. It’s not like I’m tearing up and all, but I’m just always in disbelief of how lucky I am to have these people pour there hearts out for me, take care of me and make sure that I’m happy and have everything I need to be successful. This is that warm and dear family feeling I’m trying to describe. I really have no clue about how I can possibly repay them in the future, but all I can do is pour my heart out for them when I grow older, find a job, and take on the real world. I don’t tell them this, but I love my family. And the best part of my weekends here at Berkeley is when they come to visit me because they remind me about the importance of cherishing family and about how blessed I really am.
One of my goals in life is to maximize the opportunities given to me. Let’s to do something that has never been done before. In 35 years of ABA history, the Publications Committee executed its very first event. We setup about 30 laptops to teach the basics of Photoshop. Although this event wasn’t the most successful, it was extra meaningful because our group started it. My only hope is that the semesters after this one will take this event and make it even better and better. I want to return to ABA each semester and tell myself, “Wow, my team started this.” What would that moment feel like? I don’t know, but I just know that on the inside I’d feel so proud. So proud that we are now forever a part of ABA history. And I hope Karen and the rest of my committee will feel the same way. I love my committee and I would not trade my position for any other position in ABA right now. 
