emema510

Navy Stories #1

Joining the Navy

So I already wrote about joining the military and why I chose the Navy, and as I wrote before, I was talking to the Army, which, unfortunately, didn’t work out, so that’s when I considered talking to other branches of the military. What was strange about talking to the Navy is there were no recruiters at the recruitment office a couple of doors down from the Army office, so I went to a Navy recruitment office a couple of miles away. This is strange because that office was very busy at one time. Was it the time … Read the rest

College Stories #9

Google

So before I started college, I already had summer internships in mind. During high school, I watched The Apprentice and a candidate on the show was an INROADS intern, so I applied to this internship program during my freshman year of college. They had on campus practice interviews and other seminars, and I was waiting for an internship related to civil engineering. Then one day I get a call saying that they have an internship available and they are looking for an engineering major, and that the internship was with Google. I was going to hold off and wait … Read the rest

College Stories #8

Locked Doors

So this is another story where I didn’t even realize what was going on until years later, when harassers implicitly and indirectly told me what actually happened. So it was the second semester of my freshman year of college. I was taking calculus 2, which I had already taken in high school, but I figured taking the course a second time would ensure I have a solid understanding of the material. So this was a large class in a large classroom, although not the largest class or classroom. So before this class started, there was another class occupying … Read the rest

College Stories #7

Choosing a Major

So when I applied to UC Berkeley, I chose Undeclared/Intended Business as my choice for a major. At UC Berkeley, you have to apply to the business school to major in business, hence the “undeclared/intended.” The reason I chose Business is because I spent my high school years watching The Apprentice, and I absolutely loved that show; I used to get goose bumps when the theme song played. I would watch the show on Thursday nights and do my Chemistry homework during commercial breaks. Then I figured if the business major didn’t work out, that I would … Read the rest

College Stories #6

Moving Out

So living at home during college was actually saving me money. However, I was new to the commute and didn’t figure out the most efficient way to get to school until a couple of years later. I was working part time. I was starting to stress out, and my dad wasn’t making things any easier. I was actually starting to blame my dad. Like let’s say when I found myself press for time to finish assignments, I resorted to blaming my dad. Then I realized that makes no sense. I was just stressed out and frustrated and since … Read the rest

College Stories #5

Food

So when I started going to college, I was eating out a lot and the new friends I was making would tell me about the dining halls. And even though I didn’t live at the dorms, I could still purchase a meal plan at the dining hall. After eating at the dining hall a couple of times, I figured purchasing a meal plan would be the most convenient and easiest thing for me to do. So I forget how I started talking to my parents about this; I was either printing out the paperwork from the printer in my … Read the rest

College Stories #4

Chores

So growing up, my sisters and I had chores, and one of my chores was yard work. So I’m still living at home after high school and I still have these chores. One weekend day, as I’m walking from my car to the campus library to study, I get a call from my dad yelling at me because the lawn wasn’t mowed. Since I’m already at the library, I said that I’ll mow the lawn later, which gets him even more upset and he demands that I mow the lawn immediately, knowing that I hadn’t even walked into the … Read the rest

College Stories #3

Financial Aid

So, when it was time to apply for financial aid, I received letters for federal loans that I could apply for as a student, but I also received letters for federal loans that my parents could apply for as parents of a college student. When talking about paying for college, my father would tell me that he would pay for my college tuition after I graduate. His reason was that he had a relative who was spending his father’s money acting like he was going to school, but wasn’t actually. And I was okay with this, I understood. … Read the rest

College Stories #2

My Father

So my father motivated me when I was young to do well in school… but then I actually started to do well in school. He still encouraged me to do well, but he was covert with his actual feelings, until he wasn’t, which was confusing to me. For example, when I was in the 11th grade, supposedly the most difficult grade of high school, he told me if I got straight A’s, he’d buy me a laptop. I got straight A’s, and he never bought me a laptop, but I didn’t think much of it because I was … Read the rest

College Stories #1

Going to College

So when I was young in elementary school, I didn’t get good grades and I always feared failing, until I got to middle school. In middle school I started to do better because I really wanted to be smart. I even asked to go to summer school after the 6th grade. I would pray to God at night to take care of my family and to make me smart. When I was in elementary school there were a group of students who were part of the G.A.T.E. program and I always wanted to be smart like them. … Read the rest