It’s weird ending the academic year in college. It’s much different than it has been throughout my life. Whereas in high school I’ve been overjoyed to begin the summer, in college I feel at least a little bit sad. As Sharon put it, it’s a lot like leaving a summer camp where you meet all sorts of wonderful people. Of course, summer at home is great; I’ve missed home a lot. But I don’t get to see some awesome friends for a while. At least during the school year I can visit my friends at home once a month or so… The first year went by extremely quickly. The next three years will as well, unfortunately, but I’ll definitely make the best of it.

Anyway, it’s been a great year overall. Academically speaking, first semester was not awesome, but second semester was not bad. I’ve met some cool people and have had really interesting conversation, like that time Ivan, Won, and I talked after dinner in the commons until 10:15 or something (Victor was there too originally, but then he had to go to his Cooking with Chef Roger class). I feel like I’ve learned so much just by being there. I’ve made really, really good friends (although this is not to say that I don’t have amazing friends from home as well… I certainly do!). Rice is amazing. Rice in both senses. (Okay, not funny, ha ha ha.)

I would also like to take this time to apologize for anything stupid/selfish I’ve done over the school year as well as to thank my friends for all their generosity. Here’s to a more awesome sophomore year.

So here are my current goals for the summer, in no particular order, so I can be sure I reach them by the end of the summer:

• play lots of Go (and improve)
• read Lawrence Lessig books
• read substantially more of Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三國演義)
• make money
• drink bubbletea
• pray/grow spiritually
• become a better person
• keep in touch with Rice friends
• see Cistercian people and hear their college stories
• learn I WiSH – 明日への扉 (Asu e no tobira), which Younha played and sang for her audition in Japan
• learn to beatmatch/DJ well if I can get enough money for CDJs
• make teaching English in Taiwan a good experience
• blog interesting content frequently

Lastly, have a leet summer, everybody. (Haha, please excuse my usage of “leet.”)

I’ve been meaning to write this for a while, but I’ve also been really busy—finals start tomorrow. In any case…

Music at Rice (the Shepherd School) is fairly well known, but a lot of non-musi’s are going to think, “What does that have to do with me?” Well, if you appreciate music, or if you like to play piano or something, it means a lot. Besides using the practice rooms with lots of Steinways, there are recitals and performances every week. And to keep informed, Rice students are generally on a a lot of mailing lists, including one specifically for a list of Shepherd events every week. These performances are generally free, and the ones that are not are generally pretty cheap.

So, I encourage everybody to take advantage of these awesome opportunities to hear and appreciate some of the best musical talent in the country. And if you’re considering Rice, this is definitely worth putting in your decision equation.

Back to studying for finals (or something like that).

So, eight years at Cistercian and seventeen years of life solely in DFW come to an end. It’s sad, really. Here I spend my last summer before I head to Houston for college, hanging out with good friends, drinking bubbletea, working on my Eagle Scout project, and planning for Chinese Catholic Exchange (CCX). It’s not sad that I’m doing these things; rather, I’m glad. However, I begin to realize what great friends I have here, and I’m consequently a bit sad looking towards the future, despite the many cool things I’ll study and the many cool people I’ll meet.

I’ll truly miss this place. I do realize that in four years I might not think the same way, after meeting more people and having more experiences. But I don’t want to change my thoughts on the topic. I’m going to refuse to do so. I love home. I love my friends here. I can make friends and have a great time elsewhere too, but sorry, this is my home, and I’m going to miss it. Really, there’s no question about it.