A semester

After I switched ownership of my Nikon with my dad, I just kind of stopped posting.
Now that I am writing, I realize that it's harder to write a post when I've been absent for an entire semester. Suddenly, I feel more obligated to post something insightful or significant, as oppose to the mundane delights that made me so happy today like the 茄子和 mom and I made today for lunch (which were pretty bombtastic).

I think this semester was good for me academically and socially. Surrounded by strong friends, I never felt alone or lacking in a support system when I needed it. I even rekindled old friendships and that's made me much happier as well. Being a Freshmen Counselor definitely rushed a maturation process, as I think more often about how my actions can be perceived as oppose to going with whatever I felt like in the moment. I also came to adore the JE Freshmen much more than I expected. At the beginning of the year, a few FroCos and I even talked about how we wished we were in 2015 so we could hang out with the Freshmen not as Freshmen Counselors, but just as friends.

Something else that has happened this past semester, perhaps as a result of being a FroCo or being a senior, I just feel much more at home in the JE community. For one, I am much closer with the JE administration. I have gotten to know Dean Farley and Master Laurans much better and feel reassured by their presence as oppose to nervous around them as I used to be. Being Co-captain in ping pong with Stephen was also great! We not only had great team spirit, but we also won the championships. Because of me (I'd like to think), ping pong has really gotten some respect in JE, and ALL the Freshmen LOVE IT! The greatest words I heard this semester were uttered by a Freshmen who said "It's like being good in Ping Pong is like a pre-req for being in JE." I am almost 100% certain that these words have NEVER been uttered in JE. I finally feel myself truly beloning to the JE community--it's only taken three and a half years, but hey, it sure feels great!

As for my musings, they have been mostly been on sustainable agriculture, it's application in China, and my senior project on the political space for civic participation in the Chinese environmental movement (yeah, it's kind of wordy). As graduation and the "real world" is coming up, I've also begun having discussions about gender roles with close friends. Why is it that women are expected to do more household chores than men when in today's society even when they work the amount of hours at their job as the man? Why does the "second shift" persist today? It's really unfair, and if there is one thing that annoys me more than a sense of injustice and unfairness...well, I will have to think about that one and get back to you.

I have a job at the Office of Sustainability putting together the Return on Investment report for Yale's sustainability initiatives. It gives me a good insight on the kind of projects Yale is currently undertaking and super cool!