nathan chow:

Two one-armed men looked at each other and realized that together was the only way they could ever clap again.

three different passages by my film professor Ray Carney in his book “Why Art Matters”:

“Life is mysterious, but its mysteries are entirely different from the mystifications in L.A. Confidential, Blood Simple, Blue Velvet, or Psycho. Their mysteries are shallow. They can be cleared up with a few words of explanation. Their puzzlements are trivial—matters of fact and event, of who did what to whom. Make a film about real mysteries, mysteries that don’t involve facts but feelings—like the mystery of who we are, the mystery of why we do hurtful things to ourselves and others, the mystery of why the effects of our actions can be so different from our intentions, the mystery of why we can never see ourselves as others see us.”

“Slasher pictures are too tame. Emotional violence is far worse than physical. Casual remarks cut more deeply than Freddy Kruger’s blades. The masks we wear are scarier than Jason’s—and don’t come off. The irrationality of our doubts and despairs is more frightening than any monster’s rampage.”

“Never forget that to be an artist is, above everything else, to be a truth-teller, one of the few left in a culture seized in a death-grip by media-induced fictions and journalistic cliches. You speak secrets no one else dares to whisper. You exist to share your most private feelings and personal observations with others. They are where truth lies. Don’t be afraid of being too personal, too private. Your most secret fears, your private doubts and uncertainties are everyone’s.”

Today my roommate’s best friend complimented me in a way I hadn’t heard in a while when she said my voice is “very calm and soothing” and that it puts her “at ease.”

I’m not really sure how much I believe what I say in the next few passages, but I’m just gonna toy with an idea:

Few people compliment others’ voices. It’s always clothes, accessories, and hair styles that we notice and can easily make statements about. But after thinking about the compliment I had just received and how it was in line with my personality (or at least how I think of myself), I realized how accurate of a judgment you can make of someone just by listening to their voice.

Actions depend on circumstance and setting, clothes depend on fashion sense, and posture sometimes depends on just how comfortable it is. But voice stays relatively consistent. At big social gatherings, I can very easily act crazy and be an attention whore, while in classrooms, I am often an obedient and reserved teacher’s pet. Obviously I would raise my voice at a party, but whether party or classroom, I think my voice pretty much stays the same. Other ways of judging me may be accurate every now and then, but judging me by voice gives you a picture of the core of my personality.

Think of some of your friends and what their voices say about them. Is the voice soft, loud, weak, powerful, energetic, lively, monotone, blah, fast, slow, rushed, calm, shrill, piercing, stuttered, overly formal?

Compliment them! Even if someone’s voice has a traditionally “negative” quality to it, it probably says something positive about the person’s character. A weak voice probably means a chill personality. A piercing voice probably means a fun personality. Point it out and your friend may be pleasantly surprised by something few people notice about them!

I haven’t been to an airport in more than half a decade.. and in my four years at BU and in Boston, never have I ever been to Logan Airport (a fact that a lot of my friends who live far away find hard to grasp). That changed at the end of August.

My first visit to Logan was when a few friends and I (and especially Sima) surprised Katie there. My second was when I wanted to see Giselle there when she landed (even though I got there later than her plane.. haha).

My visits to the airport reminded me of the ending of the film Love Actually—that “love actually is all around.” Maybe my friends who fly often have grown used to them, but I thought the arrival gates were really exciting places to be. Giselle’s flight came in really late, but Katie’s came in at around 11 pm.. and I was still able to see lots of family members and friends reunite with each other.

I’ve been to few airports in my life, but after my most recent visits, I think I’ll vote them the number one place to see the happiest hugs. I really wish people gave hugs like that every time they saw each other and every time they said good-bye.

Yes, I truly believe love actually is all around. But I wish we were open to showing it more often—on a day-to-day basis, not just an airport arrival and departure basis.

Dear Friends,

This is it. My last memories note at BU and the final farewell.

After four years of writing these and after thinking that college couldn’t possibly get any better, all of you managed to prove me wrong. The last four years have been more amazing than I ever asked for, but you’ve really outdone it this time by making my last semester the most memorable.

Just like my traditional end-of-the-semester note, I’ll start off with a list of memories I was fortunate enough to share with you in the Spring of 2009. Most of you were tagged in this note because I spent enough time with you this semester to live, laugh, learn, and have fun together through these moments.

After listing the memories, I’ll also have a special thanks and superlatives section for my whole four years at BU.

And last, but certainly not least, I’ll end with some final farewell words. All of you were tagged in this note because you were an important part of my BU experience at some point and I would like to thank you for it in the final farewell section. These four years would not have been the same without you.

Buuut.. that comes last. Here are the Spring 2009 memories first:

— Spring 2009 Memories —

(roughly in chronological order)

- Living on the 6th floor of Myles. The floormates I’ve met so far: Teddy, Angus, Connie L., Kristin N., Brittany W., Meagan L., Laura A., Jill O., Bridget, Shara, Ryan S., Justin, Ken C., Monika T., Tiffany H., Kerry, Gabrielle J., Davide N., Bianey, Ljubica, Stephanie R., Victor M., Sang-Hyup, Greg H., Rohan J., and of course our RAs Adanta and Johnny F.

- The New York City trip with Sarah W. and Marisa during Winter Break. The Ukrainian Restaurant. Our free admission to the New Museum of Contemporary Art. Strand Bookstore. Riding the L Train back and forth half a dozen times!!

- All the board game nights.. with too many people to name.
- Cranium friendship drama between Sarah and Mariana lol.
- Big Taboo and harassing Bendy Bob.
- How Chandler and I should never be partners in any game.
- Meeting Sumita randomly in LateNite with Brian B.
- The Mafia game in which Sarah W. was on a killing spree.
- All my predictable responses in Poser.
- Weird guessing games with Karen W., Ashley M., and others.

- All the salsa dancing nights at MIT Salsa Dance Socials, Mambos, or BU.
- Mostly with Gretchen, Elissa, Giselle, Katie C., Kimrey, Mike C., Diego, Jackie A., Stephanie R., Stephanie S., Ankita, Nishita, Conrad, Sabrina G., Cristina, Maria M., Francesca, Sandy O., Jose E., Trevor P., and many others.
- The scarf adventure I had with Gretchen walking back from the MIT Winter Salsa Gala.
- The move I invented with Elissa at Mambos.
- Trying to dance while being tickled by Katie C.. lol

- After a year of not seeing her.. Reunion with Hyesung!!!
- Catching up on everything that happened in the past year.

- Irma’s wild birthday party with Maria C., Stephanie C., Camilo, Liz K., Fernando R., and many others.

- Chinese New Year Party at the Howard Thurman Center. My juggling performance while Sarah A. and Kathleen H. played music.

- Tricking Shakeela into thinking I have a Chinese accent.. hahaha!!

- The Back Bay Ball with Nichole F., Gabrielle J., Christine G., Gretchen, and Kimrey. (Even though I swear the guy-girl ratio at BU isn’t 1:5.)

- My birthday!!
- Allie and Laura Anne’s surprise penis cupcake for me in the dining hall. Their humping bunny and “How to Talk Dirty in Every Language” gifts for me.. hahaha.
- Sunset Cantina with Giselle, Matt R., Pat U., Yue, Mike C., Maria C., Sean P., and Carolyn the Dancing Robot Garcia.
- Hanging out in the Spanish House afterwards. Tucking Jacqueline L. into bed.. lol.
- The nearly 200 birthday wishes that flooded my Facebook wall!! Thank you!

- The Redstone Film Festival with Giselle, as Chang and Isabella sat nearby.

- Stephanie S.’s Valentine’s Day Party. Kate M. on the floor.. lol.

- The BU Pub with Maria C., Stephanie C., Betsy, Irma, Sean P., and Becca.

- The January-February birthday party at the Spanish House!!
- Our change in location.. to a more crowded dance floor?
- All my funny gifts and cards. The photos I took with Mike’s gift lol.

- The cute girl who kept following me at Shaw’s and who I finally talked to in the gum aisle.. hehe.

- Hakim and Francis’ Pajama Party with Giselle, Katie C., Gretchen, Elissa, Cristina, Bethany, Jamesy, Barbra, Vaughn, and others.
- Connect 4. Dance Partyyy.

- Having my sexuality being debated on JuicyCampus.com!! hahahaha (Although I have a feeling I wasn’t supposed to have found it entertaining.)

- SPRING BREAK IN MAINE AND QUEBEC!!!!!!!!
- With Sima, Mike, Conrad, Kimrey, Gretchen, Navin, and Brian B.
- Lighthouses, coastline, and sightseeing.
- Our super nice and cheap apartment in Quebec City.
- Croissant jokes in a French accent.
- Ferry ride. Titanic scene re-enactment with Gretchen! lol
- Truth or dare game. The most memorable dares: pants, peanut butter, upside-down, hair gel.
- The prank that Gretchen and I pulled on Kimrey!! Most amazing thing ever looool
- Menage-a-trois!!!
- The Frontenac
- Snow fights, chocolate wars, tickle wars, wrestling wars in bed, soccer in mud and ice, fights for the shower (not to be confused with shower fights).
- Montreal: Gay Village, the Olympic Stadium, the Biodome, clubbing at St. Winston Churchill’s.
- Philosophical talk with Mike and Kimrey until 7 am.
- Pickle surprise!!!
- My competition with Mike in getting hit by Kimrey and Gretchen.
- Mmmm Maine lobster.
- Shortbus.. lol
- All my blonde moments.

- Chris H.’s surprise birthday dinner at Papa Razzi with Brea, Mark C., Michelle G., Raja, and others. Everyone using their camera to take candid paparazzi photos of each other.

- Oh Henry…

- Juggling Association memories:
- With Andrew L., Michi, Victor C., Tim D., David B., Alex W., Peter Panic, and others
- My solo performance at the Alice in FitRec Land special exhibit.
- Teaching Diego to juggle in an hour!
- BU Juggling’s hot date with Habitat for Humanity during their Sleepout. We helped them promote their cause, while they helped us get some publicity too!
- BU Beach juggling.
- Juggling for the Shelton BBQ Dinner.

- Ice skating with Nichole, who tried teaching me figure skating moves. Learning the two-feet spin.

- Kill/Marry/Screw game with Sarah W., Mariana, and Brian B. It was revealed that I’d rather do a meat grinder than a certain girl who likes me…

- Hakim’s 21st birthday party at the Dugout with Francis P., Andrew J., Barbra, Abbey, and others.

- Rossella’s BU visit!
- Our subsequent late-night Facebook chat conversations.

- Plays/musicals I saw:
- “The Year of Magical Thinking” at the Lyric Stage Theater
- “Hamlet” featuring Laura Anne and Sarah G.!
- “Hair” by BU On Broadway

- The Myles oil spill and our evacuation. Seeking refuge in Katie’s room in the Spanish House lol.

- All my Tuesday man dates with Mike C. in Towers.

- My family’s visit to Boston and my sister Jasmine’s stay at BU.
- Arnold Arboretum to take pictures of flowers.
- Poser board game with Jasmine and others. How everyone thought my answers and Jasmine’s were so similar in their inappropriateness.
- Maluken Japanese restaurant with Jasmine, Kimrey, Mike C., and Gretchen.
- North End and Mike’s Pastry with Jasmine, Giselle, Sarah W., and Marisa.

- The Irish step-dancing event by BU’s Step About Boston! Ceili dance with Kelley, Liz K., Maddie, Kerry M., and others. Advance, retreat, spin. Advance, retreat, spin. Repeat, repeat, repeat.. until dizzy.

- Agganis Arena to watch the televised ice hockey championship game between BU and Miami University of Ohio!
- With Elissa, Mohamed, Abdullah, Stephanie R., Stephanie S., Ankita, Nishita, and others.
- Free ice skating while the game was on the Jumbotron.
- BU scored TWO goals in the very last minute to tie a 3-1 deficit… then scored the game-winning goal in overtime to be the national champions!!
- The celebration parade with Yue. The day was officially declared by Boston’s Mayor Menino as Terrier Day.

- Multicultural Weekend!!
- My super outgoing and enthusiastic guest Xavier N. All his salsa skillzz.
- Jokes with Xavier, Veronica B., Nichole L., and Lisette at the reception and at Shelton Late Nite when Abdullah joined us.
- Jamba Juice, Mafia, and squirrels.
- The big dinner table at Myles with hosts, guests, and some of my Spanish House friends. Brian’s ways of getting back at me while he had to be silent. Bruk’s 3 questions for me about anything.
- Jammin Thursday. Then the Friday dance party with hosts, guests, and Gretchen and Andrew B.

- The lunch with Kimrey in Warren when we put a “Reserved for Cute Girls” sign on the table next to us lol.

- Apartment hunting with Paul T., with the help of Ulrich, our real estate agent. (Let me know if you would like his services! For real estate, that is.)

- Watching the Boston Marathon with Gretchen!
- Walking to Copley to see the finish line.
- Rooting for Oscar and Dr. Bob.. haha. The two guys dressed up as red beer cups.
- Seeing my friend Eve running!

- The BU Pub with Pat and his six awesome lady friends. Senior talk. The blinking version of Mafia.

- Spontaneous midnight soccer with Marisa, Sarah W., Stephanie S., Ankita, and Nishita!!
- Bike-riding with Giselle and Abdullah. “Showering” at the sprinklers.

- Trying to keep in touch with Kayla Celeste, Erin M., Amy S., Titi, and Katie K. while they were abroad! (And I’m still looking forward to the next time I’ll see them!)

— Nom Nom Nom —

- Chinese New Year’s Eve at Shanghai Gate with Yue, Will F., Lily, Hyesung, Giselle, and Matt R.

- Homemade pasta, pizza, and mozzarella sticks at Matt R.’s place with Giselle, Afra, Paul T., and Liz K.

- Shabu Shabu hotpot restaurant with Yue, Giselle, Nayeli, Tucker, and Patrick

- Fin’s Japanese Restaurant with Chang.

- Ghetto dinners with Vaughn, Janella, Karen Z., Eliza, Mia, and others.

- Myles dinners and lunches with Laura Anne, Magie, Francis, Wei, Christian A., Maria P., Sophia, Anthia, and others.

- Unplanned dinners and chats with Lamies!

— My Courses this Semester —

COM FT 554 E1: Films of Yasujiro Ozu, with Prof. Ray Carney

- All of Prof. Carney’s inspirational tidbits for artists, based on all his famous books, essays, and articles.

CAS PS 367 A1: Industrial-Organizational Psychology, with Prof. Perlitsh

- Being the supervisor of the most awesome work team in the “organization.” Our group drawing!

- The marshmallow and snack jokes Steve and I had with the professor on the first day of organizational socialization.

CAS HI 102 A1: Emerging Modern Europe, with Prof. Backman

- My office hour chat with the TA Kathryn about the challenges and rewards of teaching.

CAS LC 112 E1: Second Semester Chinese, with Chen Laoshi and Tadd Laoshi

- Sarah A.’s hilarious comments throughout the semester! Our xiao gou jokes.

- The “Your mama” jokes that our teacher Tadd Laoshi encouraged in the oral drill session.

- Trying to memorize a 4-page freshly written script in an hour with Sarah A. lol.

SED SE 534 A1: Classroom Management for Special Education, with Kevin Koziol

- Kevin’s cheesy jokes!

- My group project with Shara and Noah.

CAS PS 572 A1: Psychology of Women, with Prof. Costos

- Giving the guy perspective on topics related to gender socialization, relationships, and media images of women.

- My encore role-play performance of Bruce the misogynist.

— Special Thanks Throughout the Four Years —

- All my professors and teachers for all the things they’ve taught me not only about academics but about life, growth, and meaning.

- My RAs: Chris, Nicolae, Aisha, Adanta, and Johnny.

- The coordinators of the Admissions Day and Overnight Program from my sophomore year until this year. This year’s: Seth, Eve, and Freddy. Thanks for recognizing all my contributions throughout the past 3 years at the closing party!

- The Chinese Students Association E-board (including Erika L. and Angela C.) for all the Chinese cultural events.

- The Alianza Latina E-board (including Francesca and Sandy O.) for all the Latino events and dance parties.

- My fellow E-board members of BU Juggling for helping to run such a smooth club the past 2 years.

- Everyone at The English High School during my media arts teaching internship this year.
- Mr. Rozas for being a great role model of a media teacher.
- All my students (including Anis, Gerardo, Philip, Natalie, Giselle S., and Kev) for indirectly teaching me about what works and what doesn’t work in guiding and building their interests in self-expression, their competency in media arts, and their confidence in their strengths.

— Superlatives Throughout the Four Years: Faculty —

Favorite professors:
- Prof. Burak (COM201)
- Ms. McHugh (Creative Writing)
- Prof. Cavalieri (Video Production)
- Prof. Donley (Writing)
- Prof. Hall (Film Criticism)
- Jan Egleson (Film Directing)
- Frank Capria (Video Post-Production)
- Prof. Costos (Social Psych Experimental; Psych of Women)
- Prof. Bernstein (Scandinavian Cinema; Porn Studies.. yes, really)
– Prof. Perlitsh (Industrial-Organizational Psych)
- Prof. Carney (Art and the Films of Ozu)

Smartest and most inspirational professor:
- Prof. Carney

Funniest professor (and possibly funniest person):
- Frank Capria

Favorite professors to keep in touch with:
- Prof. Donley
- Prof. Hall
- Prof. Costos

Favorite security guard:
- Terry (Myles on Sunday afternoons)

Favorite dining hall worker:
- Enoch (Warren Towers omelette guy)

Favorite janitor:
- John (Sleeper Hall a few years ago)

— Superlatives Throughout the Four Years: Other —

Favorite places to relax:
- bookstores: BU’s Barnes & Noble and the Borders on Boylston St.
- my bed

Favorite places to study:
- the dining hall
- my bed

Favorite places to hang out:
- just the typical dinner in a dining hall (I think the amount of fun you can have during a meal interaction is underestimated)
- the Spanish House (especially Katie, Gretchen, and Kimrey’s room.. and ESPECIALLY when they try to kick me out at 2 am.. lol)
- the FitRec for soccer (that was only when I lived at West)
- Myles Bradford Lounge for board games
- the BU Beach for juggling
- my bed

Favorite places to dance:
- Mambos for salsa/merengue
- MIT salsa socials
- Ned Devine’s Irish Pub and Club (Carolyn’s birthday!)
- Alianza Latina’s dance parties
- on the street!!

Favorite walking routes:
- the Esplanade
- Newbury Street
- the Harvard Bridge aka the Mass Ave Bridge

Favorite famous people I met:
- Barack Obama!! (I was 2 inches away from him)
- Phillip Lopate (writer, essayist, and critic).. he was hilarious in a film critic panel discussion
- Elie Wiesel (Holocaust survivor, Nobel Peace Prize winner, author of “Night”)
- Jason Alexander (Seinfeld)
- Frank McCourt (Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Angela’s Ashes”)

Procrastination at its best:
- 10-page paper written in 3.5 hours about a book I skimmed (and I got an A-)
- 3-page paper written in 1.5 hours for a 500-level class with some grad students (and the professor made me read it to the whole class after giving me an A)
- 42-page partner paper written in 17 hours from 8 pm one day to 3 pm the next with one bathroom break and one 2.5 hour class to attend during that time (about 27 pages were newly written; 15 were heavily revised from old drafts) (we got an A-/B+)

Favorite film projects:
- “Ms. Boston University” BUTV series with Al, James Phillips, Amanda D., other crew, and the 12 personable, charismatic, gorgeous, and fun contestants
- “Forgive Us Our Trespasses” – short film with Garytt, Johnna, Jon H., and all our amazing actors
- “Juggling 1 2 3″ – my editing project for a 500-level post-production class.. just because the prof gave me an A- without knowing I shot it on a 3.2 MP digital camera’s video mode and edited it on Windows MovieMaker
- “Pierced” – my two-actor film about sexual tensions; starring Kelley and Jim R. (thanks again for all your help!)

Favorite writing projects:
- “My High School Through Lemons”: my memoir about my underprivileged high school. I was one of 4 out of 400 students to be chosen to read a memoir at the Coffeehouse Reading for the next semester’s COM201 students.
- How to Spell College (http://howtospellcollege.com): my blog for practical college advice presented in a hip and humorous style; it’s semi-famous on college discussion boards.
- Once We Live (http://oncewelive.com): my newly launched blog for inspirations in peace, love, and happiness. Thank you sooo much for all your words of encouragement whenever I cross-post entries on Facebook notes!

— Superlatives Throughout the Four Years: Friends —

Favorite people to bump into:
- Pat U. (especially nowadays when I rarely see him!)
- Bianey R. (the friendliest person in Myles!!)
- Brandon P. (because it’s always when he’s headed to the gym or when he’s in Myles visiting anyone but me)

Most social and outgoing / Knows everyone:
- Andrew J.
- Pat U.
- Justin W.
- Titi
- Francesca
- Jacqueline L.
- Sid E.
- Brandon P.

Has done the most for BU:
- Sid and Bruna for promoting understanding and tolerance through Hug Don’t Hate
- Lauren S. for leading BU’s chapter of UNICEF
- Hakim for pushing for a more diverse campus through the Admissions Student Diversity Board
- Noah W. for all his community service work
- Pat U. just for being super-friendly to everyone, getting people to interact, and all the small but meaningful things that resumes can’t capture

Best senses of humor:
- Carolyn G.
- Mike C.
- Brian B.
- Abdullah
- Aziz Alawadhi
- Teja

Best cooks:
- Matt R. (pasta, pizza, and mozzarella sticks)
- Conrad (baked goods!)

Best athletes:
- My friends on the men’s soccer team: Sammy A., Jin, Petur, Jon J., Jason L., Temi
- Basketball: Ibrahim K.

Most artistic:
- Kristin W. (visual arts)
- Laura P. (visual arts)
- Ariana A. (photography)
- Josh M. (photography)
- Giselle (photography)
- Jude (music)
- David G. (theater)
- Sandy S. (writing/poetry)

Best dancers:
- Paul T. (standard ballroom. have you seen the awards he’s won?)
- Gretchen (salsa, swing)
- Diego (salsa)
- Xavier N. (salsa)
- Dana S. (ballet)
- Kelley (Irish step dancing)
- Connie (hip hop)

Favorite people to discuss academics with:
- Becca (anything)
- Marisa (women’s studies)
- Afra (anything)
- Alex G. (film and art)
- Chang (film)
- Kelly G. (theater)
- Francisco S. (philosophy)

Most entertaining classmates:
- Sarah A. in Chinese class!! (”An Shanran”.. hahaha)
- Jon H.

Favorite people to eat with:
- Giselle!! (because she takes her time even more than I do)
- Miguel (oh how I miss weekend “breakfasts” with you at 4 pm)
- Hyesung (especially because of our talks during meals)

Favorite people to hug:
- Laura Anne and Allie!!
- Sid (of course.. he’s the founder and President of Hug Don’t Hate)
- Carolyn G.

Weirdest ways I met friends:
- She killed me in a game of Assassins organized by the Myles RHA. (Sarah W.)
- She slammed a door in my face. (Kaitlin C.)
- I found her wallet. (Kerry E.)
- I offered to help open her mailbox.. and then I ran away with her care package. (Laura Anne)

— The Final Farewell —

All of you were tagged in this note because regardless of how often I saw you this semester, you were still a very special part of my whole BU experience at one point or another—whether I met you at orientation or in the past few weeks. It’s not about how many times you can find your name in any of my memories notes, how many times we hung out, or how many times I even bumped into you. It’s about how big of an impression you’ve left on me.

i love love love people who…

- love themselves enough to always be interested in improving themselves and being in control of themselves

- accept themselves enough to forgive their own weaknesses, failures, and regrets

- appreciate any type of humor anytime and anywhere

- are social and open enough to see the world as a great big community

- are easy-going and rarely get upset or angry

- are principled and would always do the “right” thing, as subjective as it is

- are incredibly real, honest, open, and vulnerable about their feelings, thoughts, and desires

- don’t think it’s cheesy or melodramatic to be constantly up-front about their love, support, gratefulness, thankfulness, and forgiveness for their family, friends, and even workers at places they visit

i love people who…

- are passionate about their work, beliefs, and hobbies

- are willing to meet and talk to people anywhere

- are willing to let go of their assumptions about strangers and find out who they really are, what emotional baggage they carry from the past, and what they dream of in the future

- are proud of their culture

- are strong enough to laugh in the face of adversity

- are fun, spontaneous, and adventurous

- are smart, academic, and dorky

- love food and the communal experience of dining together

- are artists of any sort

- hate violence, war, and pointless heated arguments (intellectual debates don’t count)

- are girls who are (in order of importance) easy-going, social, open, fun, funny, smart, friendly to everyone, beautiful (which, to me, is 75% confidence, 25% looks), spontaneous, and optimistic.. and who love artsy and creative hobbies, dancing, food, kids, and cuddling

i like people who…

- hug at hello and good-bye

- are guys comfortable with man hugs

- are secure enough about their sexuality not to get caught up in this whole silly traditional gender differences thing

- use Facebook really often

- are rarely self-conscious or embarrassed

- like having their photo taken

- like reading, writing, and learning

- wear glasses every now and then

- like dancing

- play soccer

- like theater, musicals, and acting

- like independent films

- love kids

i don’t like people who…

- are workaholics

- waste food

- don’t recycle

- can’t clean up after themselves

- complain or whine often

- don’t take the initiative to learn academic subjects and hobbies on their own if they’ve always wanted to learn them

- must depend on alcohol or drugs to be wild, crazy, and spontaneous

i hate people who…

- are too serious about everything

- believe they can’t change themselves or the world

i hate hate hate people who…

- conform

- would throw out their beautiful individuality, their dreams, and their ideas with the sole reason to impress or please others

- would follow this list JUST to please me (it’s a different story if you actually believe what i like are worthy qualities)

Dear Friends,

If you’ve known me since Fall 2005, then you’re already fully aware what this note is. At the end of every semester, I write a list of memories and tag all my best friends as a way to thank them for everything they’ve done for me, as well for all the good times we’ve been through.

I still remember and would never trade my memories from freshman year, but I really could honestly say that every semester has simply gotten better at BU. This semester I was able to manage a balance between going out with “old” friends (in every sense of the word) and getting to know the dozens of new people I always seem to meet.

You’re all equally amazing, and I’d just like to remind you that as much as I would have loved to, I really can’t fit and tag every person I’ve shared memories with this semester or who I was close with in the past but could not make the time to hang out with this semester.

There’s always next (and my last) semester. But for now, here is what I was blessed with in Fall 2008:

Memories (roughly in chronological order):

- Rooming with Teddy and Angus. Teddy’s typewriter and his “podcasting.” Angus and his friend David’s sexual jokes.

- Living on the 6th floor of Myles again. The floormates I’ve met so far: Teddy, Angus, Connie L., Kristin N., Brittany W., Meagan L., Nichole, Laura A., Jill O., Bridget, Ryan S., Justin, Ken C., Monika T., Celie H., Kerry, Gabrielle J., Bianey, Ljubica, Stephanie R., Stephanie Stachow, Victor M., “Cumstain”, Greg H., Rohan J., and of course our RAs Adanta and Johnny F.

- Kate L.’s 21st birthday with Carolyn G. and her other friends. First Sunset Cantina, then abandoning the underrage people to go bar-hopping at Joshua Tree, Our House, and Kell’s.

- Funny LateNite at Towers with Mike C., Titi, and Diego. Then drive-in movie with Mike C., Diego, Elissa, Cristina, and Maria M. Totally screwing around with people about my identity.

- Juggling Association memories
- Thank you to my co-leaders Andrew L., Michi B., and Victor C., and to our most committed members Tim K., Jan, and David B.
- Splash. Teaching people how to juggle in 10 minutes, then rewarding them with BU Juggling t-shirts.
- Juggling at the BU Beach; being visited by Northeastern’s Juggling club; soccer with Mike F. and Paul M.
- The photo of me juggling in the Daily Free Press article about the Fall Activities Expo.
- Having my juggling routine taped for the BU Today talent contest promo video.
- Brian C., one of our members, winning the BU Today talent contest with his diabolo routine! Congrats, Brian!

- Discussing the films and topics with Sandy S. at the end of our porn class every Friday.

- Discussing the films and our current film projects with Chang over lunch at the end of our Scandinavian Cinema classes.

- Party-hopping with Titi and Abdullah at 1066 and 1056 Comm Ave.

- Mafia with Mike C., Jamesy, Jennie, Gauri, Natasia, and Fernando R. (even though it was supposed to be in the dark during a power outage).

- Picnic at the Esplanade with Paul T., Brandon P., Harry K., Jan, Vanessa G., and others. The dog who dipped her tail in blue paint. Realizing Jan is a juggler when he pulled out dozens of beanbags.

- Playing truth or dare during the Myles power outage with Connie, Ken, Jimmy, Mazy, and random people.

- Instead of giving change to Melvin the Kenmore homeless guy, giving a smile, a conversation, and hope to him every day.

- Dan L.’s StuVi room for pasta-cooking with Stephanie C., Maria C., Betsy, Mike, and others. (Well, I suppose Maria did all the cooking and cleaning.)

- The Asian party with Connie, Iris, Esther, Kilo, and others at the Atrium for the Kendo club kickoff.

- The Salsa Cruise with Mike C. and Margaret. Meeting Liz T. and Sofia P.

- Serra’s 21st birthday party at the News Restaurant & Lounge with Stephanie Stachow, Brandon S., Sadaf, Kristen B., Melissa, Ece, Irem, and others. Talking to all the Turkish people about the Euro 2008 soccer tournament. Having to restrain ourselves from dancing because the restaurant didn’t have a dancing license?!

- My sister Jasmine’s visit to BU. Julie L. pretending to be her at our dinner with Kayla H., Marisa P., Erin M., Barrett, Jamesy, and others.
- Introducing her to Prunella (Sarah W.).
- Jasmine’s comments about how BU and Boston are so much friendlier than New York.

- The BU Pub with Maria C. and Jordan. Their attempt at the Quest.

- Carolyn G.’s 21st birthday party at Ned Devine’s in Quincy Marketplace with Charlotte, Loren, Rachael, Rob, and others. All the great live music.

- Chats with Terry the security guard on Sundays.

- Games Nights, first at the Honors House with Conrad and others for Jenga and the weird story game, then at the Spanish House for Cranium with Conrad, Mike C., Gretchen, Brian B., Kimrey, Lyle, and others. Lyle’s human puppeting for “lifeguard.” Going to get slurpees at 7/11 in 40 degree weather at 5 am.

- Watching my acting teacher David Gram’s production of “Bug” with Kelly G. That play was amazingly intense! As expected, great work, David!

- The Walk for Autism at Suffolk Downs (where Seabiscuit once ran) with Sarah W., Kayla H., Erin M., Amy S., Mariana B., Ileana, Abby B., Dana P., and Carl. The scarf team (I’m still so jealous of them).

- Brian B., Mike C., and Anastasia bumping into me at 7/11. Playing volleyball on Comm Ave at midnight with them.

- The “Power Grid” board game with Abdullah, Trang, Matt M., Owen, and others.

- Trying to get inappropriate dialogue on Overheard at BU with Becca M. (No matter how loud or explicit we were, we failed.)

- Francis P. and Hakim’s party with Jamesy, Andrew J., Desa, James E., and others. Being the Asian at a mostly Black party. Dancing. Meeting Vaughn W., Janella, Morgan S., Vanessa M., Sacha P., and Nina S. (Sacha, don’t open your presents early!)

- The Halloween party at the Spanish House (organized by Kimrey, Gretchen, and Katie C.) with Mike C., Jamesy, Elissa, Sima, Jackie A., Conrad, Brian B., Matthew P., Engin, Andrea Z., Anastasia, Casey, Bethany, Jennifer V., Cristina, Chandler, Navin, Stephanie M., and others. (I went by who was included in my album’s photos. Sorry if I forgot you!) Dressing up as Arthur and using Mike C.’s whip. Playing Mafia, Twister, truth or dare, and “never have I ever.”

- The Halloween Charity Ball run by Lauren S. and UNICEF. Dancing with Aziz Alawadhi and his friend. Meeting Veronica and Sara. All the UNICEF E-board members winning the raffle drawings.

- Halloween party-hopping with Sarah W., Kayla H., Marisa P., and Ileana. First to a rave party with Erin M., Andew R., and others. Then to David Lee’s party. Then to Mike C.’s friend’s place, where I coincidentally saw Brian B. and Myles 3rd floor annex residents.

- Pachanga with Elissa, Gretchen, Bethany, Conrad, Katie C., Cristina, Stephanie R., Jamesy, Abdullah, Stephanie Santana, Ankita, and others. The dance I owed to Jackie A. The train Jacqueline L. and I *tried* starting. Sandy O.’s dance moves.

- Visiting and distracting Marisa P. in the Women’s Resource Center.

- Celebrating Obama’s victory in Kenmore Square. Think of it as a civilized and political Red Sox riot.

- Meeting the twins Gabrielle and Jessica R. Late-night conversations with Gabrielle on Facebook Chat.

- Jasmine’s revisit to BU. Brazilian restaurant for dinner.
- Playing Poser with Jasmine, Jamesy, Connie, Kristin N., and Zhenia.
- Jasmine’s planting of eye stickers all around Myles. I’m sure you’ve seen them staring at you…
- Poser again with Jasmine, Jamesy, Giselle, Stef, Fernando O., Marisa P., Janella, and Allison S. All my answers about Stef and Fernando. Marisa as the Lawnmower. Giselle thinking time is sexy (and my pun comment about it). Trying to cheer up Allison =).

- COM Prom at the Boston Hyatt with Mike C., Elissa, Yue, Yue’s friends, Marianna B., Charlie, Ashlie, Stephanie Santana, Ankita, and Nishita. The super crowded T we rode back. My comments and games to make the whole squished ride more entertaining for everyone.

- Surprise birthday party for Francis P. at Hakim’s place. The candid photo I took of Francis..

- Noah’s 21st birthday party at Wonder Bar. Pretending to be Carolyn G.’s boyfriend for a night. Everyone dancing with champagne.

- Jammin Thursday’s Latino Fuego dance with Kristin W., her friends, Gretchen, Katie C., Stephanie R., Vaughn, Mariana B., and others.

- Origins dance show starring Erin M., Dana S., Sarah S., and Langston F. Finally seeing Dana dance!

- Kirby’s “Sinners and Saints” party with Langston F., Sweta V. (who I hadn’t seen in 3 years), and her friends Alex T. and Mariel. I dressed up as an angel out to protect the world from sinners.

- Abdullah (no, it really wasn’t my idea) waking up Brian B. from his nap. Our long conversation about signs of gayness lol.

- Watching the Ballet Variations show “Giselle” with Dana S. (And yes, that would be gay.)

- Thanksgiving at Aunt Connie’s house. Our cute but violent cousins Trevor and Tyler. Scattergories with my sister, cousins, and cousins’ current boy/girlfriends Tansal and Mandy.

- Pig and whale jokes with Laura Anne and Allison S.!

- Board games with Brian B. and Weronika.

- The Holiday Party at the Spanish House. Our white elephant gift exchange. I got a big penis water bottle, along with boob and butt lollipops. Dance party. Never Have I Ever. Truth or dare.

- Jon Jonsson’s concert for Darfur in BU Central. Seeing Jin, Petur, and other soccer players there. You’re so talented, Jon. Keep inviting us to your concerts!

- Watching “Lizzie Stranton” the modern-day Lysistrata with Kelly G. and seeing Kirby star in it.

— Nom nom nom yumminess: —

- Asian restaurants with Connie and Iris: China Pearl for dim sum, Le’s for Vietnamese, and Nud Pob for Thai.

- The Ethiopian/Eritrean restaurant Asmara with Titi, Giselle, Paul T., Jan, and Matt R. Bumping into a gazillion people we knew.

- Brazilian restaurant Muqueca (or Muquec-shark) with Jasmine, Giselle, Paul T., Matt R., and Trevor P.

- Matt R.’s homemade pasta and appetizers with Giselle, Titi, and Abdullah.

- The Turkish restaurant Brookline Family Restaurant with Mike C., Katie K., and Kimrey. My request for the waitress to belly dance for us.

- Nud Pob with Yue, Giselle, and Chang when it was supposed to be Shanghai Gate!

- Baking cookies at the Spanish House with Brian B., Conrad, Katie C., Elissa, Abdullah, Sima, and others. Being trapped in Jackie A.’s creepy basement with Mike C.

- The $80 vanilla and coffee cakes my cousins bought from the Upper West Side for our Thanksgiving party.

- The Multicultural Dessert night with Vaughn, Janella, Giselle, Conrad, and Rossella.

- Late dinners with Stef, Fernando O., Magie, Francis R., and Wei

- Random lunches or dinners with Alex O., Alex G., Matt M., Francisco S., Josh M., Mohamed T., Laura Anne, Allison S., Anthia, or Maria P.

— Famous people I met: —

- Dan Rather at his special lecture about the presidential election.

- Seamus Heaney, Nobel Laureate for Literature/Poetry, at his reading.

- Daryl Davis, a Black musician who befriended KKK members by using music, conversation, and a willingness to listen. He even inspired dozens of them to quit the group.

— Special thanks: —

- Erika Lam and the rest of the Chinese Students Association E-board for organizing all the Chinese culture events

- Francesca, Sandy O., and the rest of the Alianza Latina E-board for organizing all the Latino dance events and parties

- Evelyn, Seth, and Freddy for running a smooth Day/Overnite program at the Office of Admissions

- Sid, Lauren S., Bruna for all their BU events promoting love, kindness, and understanding

- Adanta and Johnny F. for being cool RAs (even though they never know the answers to my super odd questions)

- My students at The English High School for teaching *me* more than I could ever imagine teaching *them*

- Mr. Rozas at EHS for being a great role model of a teacher

- My 5 friends who volunteered to be guinea pigs in my social psych experiment. You know who you are.

- The prospective students I hosted or met this semester: Clara W., Brooke L., Lauren W., Cornell J. Good luck with the college admissions process! I hope you get into and are happy at your first choice!

— My courses this semester: —

COM FT553 C1 The Profane with Prof. Bernstein

- Watching pornographic and sexual films for their academic merits in women’s studies, gender theory, feminist theory, and sex studies.

- The only class in my life where “2 Girls, 1 Cup” was discussed by the teacher.

- Highly recommended.

COM FT553 E1 New Scandinavian Cinema with Prof. Bernstein

- Learning about films made with my favorite production style (raw, realistic documentary-like fiction).

CAS HI307 A1 History of War with Prof. Nolan

- All the sex jokes at our erotic History of War study group with Javi, Seth, Amy M., and others.

CAS PS326 A1 Experimental Social Psychology with Prof. Costos

- Acting in our funny role-playing skit with Tedi, Matt, Ellen, and Ryan.

- Giving gum to Claire almost every day lol.

- Writing our frickin 42-page research paper about the correlation between ethnic identity and self-esteem with Lisa D. Working on the paper from Tuesday 8 pm to Wednesday 3 pm in Cummington with just two short breaks. Hitting “Print”!!!

- Recommended as the required experimental psych course.

SED ED211 A1 Emerging Technologies in Education with Amy

- My teacher and classmates loving my blog for current college freshmen: http://howtospellcollege.com

SED ED250 A1 Community Service in an Urban Setting with Prof. Shane

- Volunteering in Mr. Rozas’ media classes at The English High School (an underprivileged inner-city school with the distinction of being America’s first public high school).

- All the ways the school reminded me of mine.

- All the awesome students I had!! (Anis and his inspirational college essays about life in Somalia. “Lil” Kev and his matching shirt colors with me. Gerardo and his independent projects. Giselle S. and her talented writing. Philip and his discount card. Natalie and the funny horoscopes she wrote for the school paper. All the students who took a BU writing course.)

— Superlatives: —

Favorite alumni still in touch with the BU community: Brandon P. and Jan

Favorite place to relax: the Borders bookstore on Boylston

Favorite place to hang out: the Spanish House

Hosted the best parties/events:
- Hakim and Francis P.
- Katie C., Gretchen, Kimrey, Sima
- Kirby
- Alianza Latina

Favorite people to bump into (even though we don’t hang out–even though that must change!): Shira, Patrick U., Samuel A.

Funniest moment: My conversation with Jamesy about the sexual undertones in “Walden” as Teddy and Hoon were cracking up.

Funniest quote:
Ambar’s quote about women riding mechanical bulls

Favorite things said to me:

- From Sacha P. in October (wall post):
So on a scale from one to ten, how drunk were you that night?? You were HILARIOUS. lol
(The answer is zero, by the way. I responded and told Sacha that I don’t need alcohol to be fun or crazy.)

- From Carolyn G. in November (in person):
Oh my God, will you stop talking to every other person on the street? We’re late already!

- From Vaughn W. in December (in person):
Nathan Chow, what’s BU gonna do without you next year?

- From Laura Anne in October (wall post):
Why do your facebook msgs always make me smile? Reading it seriously brightened a really shitty day I’ve been having… :)

— My goals for next semester: —

- Figure out what I want to do in my two or three years between graduation and grad school. Yeah, that would be a good idea.

- Deliver the undergraduate commencement speech at either the COM graduation or the all-university graduation, or at least publish a “goodbye to BU” letter in the Daily Free Press.

- Win one of the top three prizes for the Fleder-Rosenberg Screenplay Contest at the 2009 Redstone Film Festival.

- Keep in touch with Mr. Rozas and my students at The English High School.

- Learn to salsa dance even better. (Anyone wanna practice with me? Preferably in Myles?)

- Be a regular but unofficial visitor to Professor Costos’ Psych of Women class.. on top of the 20 credits I’m taking again.

- Write, produce, direct, and act in three of my own short films.

- Write more entries in my personal blog, my blog for college freshmen, and my blog about inspiration and life improvement.

- Get my roommates Teddy and Angus to be on Facebook.

- See Trang grow up.

- Get Brian B. to dance to one song in public. (Who’s with me on this one?)

— Closing Statements —

I’m looking forward to Spring 2009, my very last semester at BU. But I’m also always looking backward at everything I’ve had the good fortune to experience with those close to me.

One more semester to go…

For those of you who will be here in the spring, I don’t have a bit of doubt that my last semester with you will be as memorable and precious as those in the past.

And for those of you who will be studying abroad (and sadly there are many), other than your return in May, this is pretty much goodbye and farewell. I remember every important person in my life, and you’re no exception. While you’re having the time of your life in another country and then back at home, shoot me a line and I’ll always be glad to keep in touch with you to see how you’re doing.

You can find updates on me and my life at my personal site: http://nathansc.com.

For everyone:
Have a happy, relaxing, and joyous holiday season and a prosperous new year. Be warm. Be safe. And be grateful.

Love Always,
Nathan

P.S. I wanted to write this little bit as a separate note, but since I’ve tagged so many of you in these memories already, here’s the last thing I want to say:

It sounds really cheesy, but don’t wait until the last minute to say goodbye to your friends for college winter break. And especially don’t tell them, “Oh, you’re leaving in a few days? We’ll definitely see each other again..” It just doesn’t work that way–not for winter break goodbyes, not for real life. You might as well say goodbye two or three times than not at all.

Semifinal #1 – Germany vs Turkey:

- Germany will be up 5-0 at the 80th minute. Three of the goals will be on set pieces and two will be headers from super tall (former basketball?) players. Cuz those are the only ways they ever score anyway.

- “Super Mario” will have another poor game because he’ll miss his mushroom boost again.

- From the 80th minute until the end of the game, Turkey will have another amazing comeback by scoring 6 goals to win the game. Oliver Kahn will once again remind Lehmann that he’s a n00b.

Semifinal #2 – Spain vs Russia:

- Russia’s coach, Guus Hiddink, will not show any emotion whatsoever. He’ll reminisce about the times he brought Korea and Australia to their greatest World Cup runs and about how he beat his own country, the Netherlands, in the last game. But he’ll also be so distracted that Spain will win 4-1 again. (Hiddink wants a Russian magic trick. Villa wants another hat trick.)

- William H. Macy will referee the game. Ooops, I meant Michel Lubos. Seriously, am I the only one to see the resemblance?

- To train for the match, Spain will play England in a friendly (since England is sooo bored of just watching this year’s Euro). Wayne Rooney will “accidentally” step on all the Spanish players’ crotches, and Spain will forfeit the game.

Final – Turkey vs Spain:

- Before the match begins, Turkey will lose another 10 of their starting players due to suspensions and injuries. They’ll still have an amazing sense of hope that they will win. The winning Greek team from 2004 will give them a few tips on how to pull even bigger surprises.

- Still hurt from the English friendly, the Spanish players will be shielding themselves extra cautiously during Turkish free kicks. Well-past his sperm-producing ages, Spanish coach Aragones will not understand their nut-clutching behavior.

- Upset about their deserved loss to Spain, the Italians will interfere with the game by falling, diving, elbowing, shoving, and doing anything cheap to help Russia win.

- Attracted to the falling and diving tactics, Cristiano Ronaldo will join the Italian squad. Attracted to Cristiano, a couple million teenage girls will also join the Italian squad.

- But Zidane will headbutt them all.

- And for no apparent reason, Brazil will win the game.

Aaaaand scene!