CouchSurfing is an online network for strangers to find “couches”—beds, futons, floors—to sleep on during their travels. In general, the program is very safe, but before you host someone or get hosted by someone, you check their list of references and how many other people they know in order to gauge their legitimacy. The site’s philosophy is that travel is not only about locations but also about people. CS “envisions a world where everyone can explore and create meaningful connections with the people and places they encounter.” (If you’re interested in joining, add me as a friend.)

My first guest was Ana, a Spanish student here in the U.S. for just a week. I hosted her for two nights and showed her around Boston. For CSers, one of the most important things to observe in a city is its people and culture. She asked a lot about American life and also pointed out several differences between America and Spain. My favorites:

- Our flag in the Boston Public Library is HUGE, possibly signifying our immense amount of self-love and entitlement. Nowhere in Europe would you find a flag that big.

- Of all the things she saw in Boston, she was possibly most amazed at the big size of my fridge. Fridges and plates of food are twice the size of the ones in Europe. “Could I take a picture of your fridge?!” she asked. I said yes and that often the things you want to show your friends back at home are not photos of the Statue of Liberty or Times Square or whatnot but little cultural and social details like that.

- Americans are awful at being fashionable. No explanation needed.

- When we were eating lunch in Quincy Marketplace, I noticed an attractive young lady sitting next to us, reading a Boston guide. I struck up a conversation with her and found out she was a med student from France and that she was traveling alone for that day. After talking with her for a bit, I told her I was showing Ana around and asked if she would like to join us. She said yes, and for the next few hours, we all toured Boston together, discussed American culture (or lack of), got incredibly wet together, and took photos of each other (Mathilde’s camera malfunctioned right before we met, so she was extra grateful we met her and were able to take photos for her and of her). After we said bye to Mathilde in the evening, Ana asked me, “Meeting someone you don’t know like that is not typical in America, right?” I said “Right.”

(I guess my openness to strangers is not very American. Read http://nathanchow.net/journal/2010/01/27/on-peace-love-and-harmony-part-i-believing/ for how I hitched a car ride from strangers when I was stranded on an island once! It restored my faith in humanity.)

Some of my own reflections on all this:

- I might say I learned as much about my town and country as Ana and Mathilde did. Almost everything they pointed out about America was known to me already, but for some reason, having a foreigner directly say those things to me drilled it into me. When I invited Mathilde on our tour, she correctly pointed out that I got to see things I normally don’t see in my town (I went on the Freedom Trail for my first time!). But on a deeper level, it’s as if I see my own town through Spanish and French eyes now. Marcel Proust: “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”

- Saying good-bye to Mathilde and Ana made me feel as if I were one of the characters in the films “Before Sunrise” and “Before Sunset.” This first CouchSurfing experience, along with welcoming another stranger to join my “tour,” really was about human connection. If I were to describe CS: You meet someone you might never see again, but you know you have a few days—or a few hours—to connect. You let them into your home, you step into theirs. You teach them, you learn from them. You do all this while knowing that shortly after hello is the threat of good-bye. It doesn’t matter. What happens between hi and bye is what matters—it’s yours, it’s theirs, it’s shared. And it’s kept forever.

Some special thanks: <3

- Leanne: (I just met her because she was a fan of one of my blogs.) I had a wonderful conversation with you and Ana on Ana’s first night here. Thanks for coming over so late on a Sunday night! More food adventures and dares to follow..

- Kayla H.: Thanks for stopping by! I rarely get to see you anymore. Put on your coat! We will finish our barter soon.. and possibly add more to it lol.

- Rossella and Sima: Thanks for introducing me to CouchSurfing!

- Sima and Weronika: Thanks for your very well-kept and frequently updated blogs on Spain. Some of the things I talked to Ana about were inspired by your posts!

- Paul: Thank you for allowing me to bring Ana over!

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 know I just got done listing a million concrete memorable moments from this semester and that I did that for eight semesters, but I don’t want you to think that my four years at BU could so easily be summarized by a laundry list of events and activities.

No, they are summarized by these—as vague and general as they are:

the times we simply shared laughter,
the times we were spontaneous,
the times we broke bread together,
the times we contemplated in silence,
the times we thought through each other’s ideas,
the times we philosophized about life,
the times we taught each other,
the times we complimented each other in ways we never heard,
the times we had private conversations,
the times we dared to be vulnerable enough to reveal secrets,
the times we validated each other’s troubles,
the times we understood each other better than ourselves,
the times we inspired each other,
the times we sat together when we didn’t know anyone else,
the times we hugged when we both really needed it,
the times we danced even when there wasn’t any music,
the times we had more fun talking in our dorms than going to a party,
the times we had more fun walking than arriving at a destination,
the times we said something and knew our smiles would be simultaneous,

the first time our eyes locked,

and the one time it clicked that this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

These are the real memories. These are what I could’ve posted semester after semester. And these are what will always remain more precious to me than any diploma, degree, or sheet of paper ever will.

I’m serious when I brag that I never forget anyone even remotely important in my life. I promise you that you’ve been added to that list and that you’ll remain on it forever.

You have no idea how blessed I am to have found you, to have happened upon you, to have decided to talk to you when you were but a stranger, to have been approached by you, to have been introduced to you, to have continued saying hello to you, to have invited you to places, to have been invited to places with you, and to have continued the friendship together.

Many of you will still be in Boston next year, but several of you are moving halfway around the world. But whether I’ll have the pleasure to see you again next year or whether this really is good-bye, I want you to know that physical distance will never keep us apart.

Please don’t go, many of you tell me.
I’m not, I assure you.

I may be “graduating” and moving onto the next stage of my life, but trust me when I say that everything you’ve had the good heart to give me in the past four years—whether purposely or accidentally, whether directly or indirectly, whether knowingly or unknowingly—will stay with me forever. Feeding off your compliments, your constructive criticism, your words of encouragement, your understanding, your acceptance, your laughter, and even just your simple enjoyment of my company, it was at BU that I became everything and everyone I’ve ever wanted to be.

The past four years at BU have been and always will be the most important years of my life. I’ve never been so sure of anything.

And as much as you might not believe it, it was all because of you.

The Billy Medley and Jennifer Warnes song couldn’t have said it any better:

“I’ve had the time of my life
No I’ve never felt this way before
Yes I swear it’s the truth
And I owe it all to you.”*

You’ve meant so much more to my life than you’ll ever know, and I can’t say it in any simpler way, but Thank you.

Thank you for giving me so much more than I ever asked for.
Thank you for joining me in this amazing four-year journey.
And thank you for being a part of my life and allowing me to be a part of yours.

All good things come to an end, and as much as I don’t want to say it, this is it:

Love Always—And Farewell for the Very Last Time,

Nathan

P.S. You’re invited to my graduation on Sunday, May 17th!! Details can be found at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=82060287992&ref=ts. If you need to, sign a free housing extension sheet at your RA office to stay in your room until the 18th.

P.P.S. (Hehe I said pee-pee.) Especially to my senior friends moving back home far away from here and who I will probably never see again, keep in touch!! Facebook, email, and AIM always work. Also, you can always find updates on my life at http://nathanchow.net.

P.P.P.S (Last one, I swear.) I always say this at the end of each semester, but don’t wait until the last minute to say good-bye to your friends for the summer/winter or for good. Don’t avoid the emotions because you’re too scared and want to say “I’m sure I’ll see you again sometime soon..” Just do it. It’s better to hug and say your parting words now than not at all. So what if you do it three times?

*”(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.” Lyrics written by Franke Previte, Donald Markowitz, and John DeNicola.

tagged:
1. arthur cast + spanish house + others
2. seniors + high school + others
3. seniors + alumni + professors + my EHS students
4. spanish house + its honorees
5. activities: juggling + admissions hosting + BUTV + hug dont hate + leadership conference 2007 + chinese students association + alianza latina + multicultural weekends 08+09
6. myles + used to be in myles + floormates
7. myles, continued
8. uncategorized
9. uncategorized, continued

1. My ethnicity is Chinese, my country is America. I was born in California, raised in New Jersey. My high school was mostly Black and underprivileged, my college is mostly White and well-off. My favorite films and music are Scandinavian, my way of life is Latino. But I am first and foremost a human.

2. Because I was used to my high school’s demographics, I’ve always felt that at BU I’ve related better to the poor and underprivileged minority students than to the well-off kids.

3. I’m immune to fads and pop culture. I never watch TV, I don’t pretend I read the news, and I don’t care what the talk of the town is. I don’t live under a rock. I live in my own world.

4. Sometimes I have hearing problems in my left ear. Other than to two friends, this is the first time I’ve told that to anyone outside my family. It’s because asking “What?” more than three times is the only way I ever feel like a failure, especially when I pride myself on being a listener. Now that you all know, just pretend you didn’t. The last thing I need is everyone speaking too loudly.

5. I hate impromptu speaking and still need improvement on it, but I love writing speeches, practicing them, and delivering them.

6. When it comes to one-on-one interactions, I’m more of an asker and gentle listener, but when it comes to big groups and parties, I’m guilty of being an attention whore who does anything for entertainment’s sake. People who have seen me in only one type of social setting get surprised how different I can be in another.

7. I share way too many qualities of both extraverts and introverts. I’m still not sure what I am. I’m undoubtedly a people-person and a spontaneous instigator of social events, but I also cherish time going places on my own, as well as spending some Friday nights alone in a bookstore.

8. In elementary school, I was placed in Speech Therapy and ESL (English as a Second Language) classes for half a decade. Then in high school, I won nearly every English award, but I almost failed the state standardized writing test. In college, the paper I was most doubtful about eventually won the COM Memoir Contest, where I was one of 4 out of 400 to read it to the next semester’s COM201 students. To this day, 3 strangers have stopped me on the street to thank me for writing it. But the paper I loved the most had “rather poor writing style” as the very first comment scribbled on the back. Writing is the most subjective thing ever.. but it’s part of why I love it.

9. In high school, I had a perfect 800 score on the highest level SAT II Math test and on the AP Calculus BC test even when I drew a smiley face for one of the 3 word problems. Everyone thought I would pursue a career in math, but I never said that. I just let them babble about me if they didn’t really want to learn about me. I like college because no one has any assumptions about me built on years of “knowing” me.

10. I don’t get offended, disgusted, or embarrassed by anything. I think they’re signs of weakness. I also think there are no taboo topics for conversation. I love open people.

11. I read too many academic books on my own, as well as too many of the interesting and “recommended” paperback books my teachers mention briefly in lecture—but I only skim the required textbooks on the syllabus.

12. Just because I’m a film major doesn’t mean I know film history, have seen all those classics, and know what’s out in the theater (I’ve actually been to the theater only about 25 times my entire life). I watch whatever I think will enlighten me, inspire me, and relate to me. It could be a Hollywood film, a foreign film, or an independent film… although chances are that it’s one of the latter two.

13. I’ve kissed a girl of every race… except Asian.

14. I’ve never understood the girl world’s obsession with makeup and runway models. The most desirable girls I know are natural but beautiful, confident but down-to-earth. I hate it when an otherwise gorgeous girl puts shit on her face and I hate it when an otherwise gorgeous girl has that serious and “sexy” model look. Laugh or smile. It makes everyone look more attractive.

15. Ever since middle school, I don’t think I’ve ever even *thought* of hurting someone, slamming a book down, or cursing without a smile. I’ve never been able to relate to anger and frustration in real life, in movies, and in books, even though they always seem to be the norm for feelings. Am I just the odd one? When someone is angry, for some reason I just can’t get myself to believe it’s real—that someone could actually choose a path other than love and compassion.

16. I’m the least picky eater in the world. I love friends who are the same.

17. My sexual preference might be the only thing that keeps me from being gay: I like writing, keeping a journal, and being super clean and organized. I like ballroom dancing, figure skating, theater, acting, musicals, cooking, interior design, fashion, and artsy things much better than football. I listen to Celine Dion and the Backstreet Boys. I hate action movies. Other than soccer and the Olympics, I don’t follow sports. I like wearing pink. I order strawberry daiquiris and pina coladas and never beer. I give as warm of a hug to a guy as I do to a girl. I’m fine with judging men and complimenting them. I look forward to being a homemaker. I have a growing interest in a lot of studies about women, gender, and feminism. Most of my friends are female, and most of my male friends are gay.

18. I laugh at far too many things in real life and I enjoy the everyday absurdities that everyone else thinks are negativities, but surprisingly I don’t find a lot of movies, TV shows, and YouTube videos funny.

19. I think there’s more to college than academic learning: there’s social learning, interpersonal learning, leadership learning, cross-cultural learning. Boston University and the city have made me an incredibly different person than I was just a few years ago. I’m so glad I chose to come here instead of all the “brand name” universities.

20. I think there’s A LOT more to life than work. I swear by this Barbara Bush quote:
“At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child, or a parent.”

21. I always try to inject my sense of fun and adventure into everything, especially things that are conventionally boring. Just for kicks, I’m very random.

22. My favorite compliment is that I’m weird. Who the hell would wanna be normal?

23. Everyone I meet means the world to me, although my friendliness with people I just met often makes them suspicious of my motives. I get along best with other people who love meeting people, as well as those fascinated by—not scared of—the kindness of strangers.

24. I always take notes on random, sidetracked “life lesson” tidbits in class. I still remember and live by some things my elementary school teachers told me. Next to my family and books, I think these have been the biggest influence on my personal development. The power of teaching has always amazed me. It’s why I am a teacher. I also hope my own students and campers remember my own “life lessons.”

25. Some things I’ve wanted to be that I no longer want: a police officer, a forensic scientist, an architect. Some things I still want to be: a teacher, a counselor, a professional trainer for human resources, a consultant, an author, a film director, an actor, a mayor of a small town, a psychologist, a clown doctor, a social worker, a homemaker, and always a bunny (want the story?).

26. I don’t like talking about myself, but I love writing about myself (wasn’t that obvious from this note?). In my writing, films, and other modes of expression, I seek to be so honest, naked, vulnerable, and specific that I’m universally relatable. I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into my life.

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.

This is the list of memories you helped me make this semester:

- My floormates on the 6th floor of Myles: Allen C., Walker, Connie, Serra, Britney (_?), Rebecca L., Caroline E., Bianca, Stephanie S., Nikita, Anshita (I did that on purpose, I swear!), Ahalya, Leighann, Michael K., Nick C., Valentina, Nicolae (most corruptive RA ever.. lol), Brian, Bakr, Monika, Julie M., Jodi, Sara P., Ashley N., Christina G., Jalpa, Aiesha, Sarah S., Joon, Francine, Hilah, Kathryn, and Patrick U.

- The “Fall 07″ Admissions party that was postponed from last semester. Talks with Samantha B. and Shari. The really good chicken strips.

- Intermediate Salsa class with Conrad, Kristen H., Kristin W., Maya, Andrea Z., and Lauren N. There were actually more guys than girls in a dance class!

- Ice skating class with Katie D., Diana S., and Josh S. Figure skating talks with the teacher Barbara (the sweetest lady ever). Trying to make a juggling routine while skating.

- Film Directing class with just five other students. In addition to directing some episodes of “Law and Order,” our teacher Jan Egleson was an instrumental part of the beginning of Boston’s independent filmmaking.
- Jim and Kelley acting in my film “Pierced,” which is based on a short play about a girl who pierces her belly button months after a break-up. For my actors: Again, thank you so much for all your time and effort!
- Acting in Jessica L.’s film with Kelley. Our entertaining rehearsal, which took me quite a while to get serious.

- Video Post-Production class with Professor Capria, who will be one of the few Avid product designers next year. All his hilarious quotes. Craig H. and I even collected a whole list of them.

- Waiting for the BU Bus in SED with Sarah W. and her friends, who I wasn’t introduced to yet–aside from Erin, my stalker. Eating dinner at West Campus with Stephanie C., Maria, Camilo, Jordan, and Dan L. while Sarah’s table was right next to ours.

- The Agganis Arena Free Skate with Jacqueline L. and her friends Kendall, Christine, and Shu-Lin. Teaching Michael (_?) how to skate. And of course seeing Melody, Tetyana, Ariana, and Jenn K. there.

- Dinner at West with Sarah W. and her friends. Finally “officially” meeting Kayla H. and Marisa P.

- Free skate hours being cancelled (again) when I tried going with Stephanie C., Maria, and Jordan.
- Plan B: Hanging out in Stephanie and Maria’s suite, then T Anthony’s.

- Lunch at the Jamaican restaurant Ortanique with Mike C., Katie K., and Sabrina. Our neverending but adventurous walk. Later in the semester we also went to Bombay Cafe.

- Salsa Gala at the Cambridge Hyatt with Jacqueline L., Josh M., Arjun, Giselle, Andres, Clarissa, Nayeli, Shu-Lin, Kendall, Meg, Peter L. and many others. Meeting Jen and Erika and walking back with them. Seeing Vanessa G. and her friends there. Meeting Lauren M., Shira, and Rachel F.

- Giving Jen and Erika a tour of Myles, and them giving me a tour of the Spanish House.. lol.

- Lunches with some homeless robot named Carolyn Garcia. Our conversation on how to stop people from having sex. During one of our lunches in the GSU, we even saw Kal Penn, the Indian guy from “Harold and Kumar.”

- Going to the Korean Culture Show but not its afterparty. Skipping the Latino Culture Show but going to its afterparty.
- The Korean Culture Show.. starring Connie, Dan L., and Jin. Watching it with Stephanie C., Maria, Betsy, and several others. Meeting Stephanie’s boyfriend Laith. The rice cakes that were a waste of Laith’s time.. lol.
- Climax, the Latino Culture Show’s afterparty. Dancing with basically the same crowd as the one that watched the Korean show.. plus the crowd from the Salsa Gala.. plus Miguel.. plus Natasha B.. plus people I just met. The shady guys I had to stop from dancing with my female friends lol.

- The big Superbowl party at Agganis Arena with ice skating and free food. Skating with Stephanie C., Maria, and Jordan. Finally being able to skate backwards. Becca M., Mike M., Aziz Alawadhi (I can’t just say Aziz A. because I know three of them!!), Alex O., and Natasha B. coming later.

- Chinese New Year’s Eve! The New Year dinner in the dining halls (even though they served it on the wrong day).

- The Choral Society’s performance by Kayla H., Amy S., and Kelly G. Accidentally going in early and being the only one in the audience lol. Later Sarah W., Marisa P., Erin, Scott M., and Sandy S. came in at the right time to join me.

- My autobiographical video of me juggling. I used the video function on my 3.2 MP digital camera to tape it, then Windows Moviemaker to edit it.. and this was for a 500-level post-production class (and I got an A-). Miguel, thank you for helping!

- Going to the FitRec with Connie, Kristin N., and Vivian. Connie’s attempt to teach me how to dance hip-hop. Super88 and Lollicup afterwards.

- Sunset Cantina with Will A. and Titi for my 21st birthday. Mario Kart 64 with Miguel, Christian A., Allen, Stephanie S., and.. Nishita?

- Redstone Film Festival with Chang and Isabella. Andrea N., Emily W., and Sandy S. and her friend Rachel sat nearby too. Congrats to my TA Jenny for winning second place!

- Being invited to play Mafia in the GSU with some random people and my prospective student Jon. I met Gabrielle, Kayla R., Chengwen, Sherry, Nick(?), and a few others.

- Staring contest with Andrew R.!! It went on for over 30 minutes while everyone else at the dinner table was cracking up at our jokes. Eventually we called it a tie, but I think I was closest to losing–especially when he was about to take his pants off.

- Watching “The Wind in the Willows” with Giselle after we found out the “Magic Flute” opera was sold out.

- Watching “Waiting for Godot” with Kelly G. It was directed by our acting teacher David G.

- Guess who talked to me on AIM? KEITH!!!

- Failing miserably at predicting this year’s Oscars (13 out of 24 correct). Three years ago I was tied for 3rd on oscar.com. Was that luck, or was this bad luck?

- Monday lunches with Connie, Iris, Esther, and others–but not with a certain someone I didn’t meet.. (inside joke)

- Dinners in the corner of the dining hall with Laura S., Andrew B., Ann M., Brian, and others.

- Dinners with Aziz Alawadhi, Alex O., Alex G., Michael T., Davide, Igor, and the rest of the international kids in Myles, along with Owen and Trang (who needs to grow up..).

- Random lunches with Teja, Paul P., and others.

- Random dinners with Lily, Sena, and Tiffany.

- Playing the board game “Poser” with Walker, David Y., Stephanie S., and the prospective students JC and Marcus (Swedish pride!!). All the sexual answers.

- Spring Break back home in New Jersey. Scattergories with my brother Jordon and sister Jasmine. SNACKAGE and obscure foreign films with my sister.

- Hosting Eve and Blessing when we saw the Jonas Brothers van getting ready for their concert.

- Asian Student Union’s Free Malaysian Food Night with Yue, Maria, Camilo, and Titi. Camilo’s comments when he got seconds and thirds.

- Titi’s house party with Stephanie C., Maria, Camilo, Jordan, Liz, Hakim, Francis, Katie B., and the Berklee kids I met. How I ruined the movie association game that went on for hours.. hahaha.

- Hanging out in the Performing Arts House with Giselle, all those silly actors and music majors, and the prospective students Danny P. and Chris D. Later going to Charlie and Nick G.’s room in Myles with Brandon P. Danny and Ashlie taught me enough inappropriate sign language.

- Watching the inappropriately dubbed fake “Arthur” episode with Sarah W., Marisa P., Kayla H., Erin, and Andrew R.

- The Dance Marathon with Stephanie S., Ahalya, and several others.

- My grandpa’s funeral =(
- Rest in peace, Yeah-Yeah (Cantonese for the grandpa on the father’s side of the family)
- The most awkward meal EVER. It was with my brother, my cousins, and three of the.. undertakers.

- Step About Boston’s Irish step-dancing event with Pedro, Liz, and Kelley.

- The random “Call me, babe!” raffle ticket and phone number I got from the two girls who thought I was waving at them.

- Jamnesty with Titi, Lauren S., Sid, Stephanie S., Nishita, Ankita, and Titi’s admissions guest Sarah A. Dancing to the live band “Spiritual Rez.”

- “G-0-7″ with Aziz Al-Harbi, Kavyon, and Jay, even though I still don’t know what it means lol.

- The Campus Movie Fest screening for BU films. Congrats to all my friends whose film made it to the screening, especially to Javier, who won “Best Drama.”

- Allen’s lazy (but nice) ass driving me and Walker to Super88. And no, I’m not complimenting your butt.

- Fleeting conversations with Study Lounge Girl lol.

- Multicultural Day:
- Meeting other hosts. Cassie and Yolanda trying to guess my major.
- The No-Laughing Contest. Hakim and Francis urged me to participate, and eventually I won (and got a free BU shirt). About 8 different people tried making me laugh. (I’m actually always laughing at everything, but if I want, I can keep a reeeally straight face.)

- Juggling at the BU Beach with Andrew L., Michi, Pedro, Sid, and many others. Teaching people how to juggle (and for the most part, failing).

- My recycling buddies Anthia and Bianca! lol

- Playing Mafia–oh wait, no, it was Taboo–with Stephanie S., Titi, Dave S., Ankita, Nishita, Nicolae, and Geetika(?).

- Watching Paul T., Vanessa G., Hawke, and Sarah Wong kick ass at the MIT Ballroom Dance Competition with Brandon P. Paul and Vanessa won first place overall in their division!

- Taking pictures of the Boston Marathon with Josh M. I saw the winners, Lance Armstrong, and plenty of.. unique.. people.

- *Finally* a game of Mafia with Stephanie S., Serra, Miguel, Stef, Fernando, Ashley N., Aziz Alawadhi, Shruti, Jennie, Randy, and the prospective student Vandy. Later two random people, Alan and Natalie, joined us in the blinking version of the game.

- Juggling for peace at Marsh Plaza with Andrew L., Sid, and Emilio when the Juggling Association was helping to promote the Peace Concert. Lauren S. and Jenna were playing with the diabolos.. haha.

- The Asian Beauty Pageant. Connie, Jon L., Joon, Hawke, Sarah Wong, and a few others I knew were in it.

- The West Campus Carnival with Stephanie C., Maria, and Betsy. The sumo wrestling outfits, the mechanical bull, our Cosmopolitan photo, and the balloons we made.

- “Wholesome goodness” dinners with Patrick U. and Ashley M.

- Peace Concert with Titi, Stephanie S., Nishita, Ankita, Becca M., and Mike M. Braddigan and some other bands played there.

- Hanging out at the Dugout with Professor Capria and my classmates.

- Watching our teacher’s “Billy in the Lowlands” film at the famous Brattle Theater with Patty and her friend. The mysterious grumbling noises we kept hearing.

- The Admissions End-of-the-Year Party. For the second semester in a row, winning most active host overall in the Day and Overnight Program.

- Going to our friend Jon Jonsson’s musical performance at T’s Pub with Samuel.

- Connie and Iris’s plans to come to my room to bother me… during finals week. (Why am I making this a memory? This will only encourage them more next year..)

- More Mafia.. this time with Titi, Billy, Ted, Andrea (_?), Maria, Miguel, Christian A., and James (_?). The weird card game Ted proposed.

- The Vampire Party, hosted by Rayan, Marisa P., and others. We had to dress in “clans.” Mine was hobos for guys and Catholic schoolgirls for girls.
- Some people I knew there: Erin and Andrew R. (even though they left super early lol), Joon, and Emeri.
- Some people I met there: Heather, Kat (I think she and I were the only ones to follow our clan’s dress code), Karna, and Juan and his girlfriend.
- The ribbons we had to wear. If we took someone else’s off, we were able to make them do whatever we wanted. Uhhh, yeah.. that was intense.
- The girl who remembered me from freshman year salsa class.. and what she said about me from back then lol.

- Francis and Hakim’s Game Night. Uno Stacko (basically Jenga) with Dave S. Scattergories with Francis, Josh M., and Francisco.

- My plans with Marisa P. to hijack a cart lol.

- Watching the university and COM graduation ceremonies. Congrats to all my senior friends! I’ll miss you guys!

Special thanks to:
- Nicolae, for being one of the top 2 RAs out of the 2 I’ve ever had
- Angela C., for leading all the events run by the Chinese Students Association this year
- The committee that put the Peace Concert together, including Sid, Lauren S., Bruna, Jenna, Melissa K., Sarah S., and Aisha. (Sid, I still remember when you confidently and enthusiastically pitched the idea to the SAO Consortia meetings. I’m so glad it turned out to be such a huge success!)
- All the Admissions Day and Overnight coordinators, for pairing me up with awesome guests
- All my admissions guests this semester: Jon P., JC, Marcus R., Blessing, Eve, Chris D., Danny P., Nina S., Bill R., Vandy, KC (Multicultural Day #2), Justin B. (Multicultural Day #3), and Andrea B. (unofficially lol). It was a pleasure getting to know all of you. For those coming here next year, welcome to BU! And for everyone, good luck with all your future goals!

Classes this Semester:
COM FT526 Directing the Theatrical and TV Film, with Jan Egleson (highly recommended)
COM FT504 Video Post-Production I, with Prof. Frank Capria (highly recommended)
CAS EN175 Literature and the Art of Film, with Prof. Leland Monk
CAS PS251 Psychology of Personality, with Prof. Richard Ely
PDP SK101 Basic Skating, with Barbara Pinch
PDP DA214 Intermediate Salsa, with Anne Marie Paul

Things I Learned:
- The difference between Ankita and Nishita. Wait.. nevermind.
- Aziz Alawadhi’s REAL birthday.. haha.
- That if I read the assigned books before writing a paper about them, I get stuck with a B+. If I don’t, I always get an A-. I’m keeping that in mind for next year..
- That BU has a lot of random Camp Lohikan connections. One camper’s sister was a COM freshman here this year. Someone in my salsa class went to high school in Egypt with a counselor. One of my admissions guests used to be a camper at Lohikan’s sister camp, Camp Cayuga. One Multicultural Day host’s roommate’s sister was a camper last year.. and she helped me cross-dress for the Ms. Lohikan pageant…
- And last, but not least: that I look like Arthur the cartoon character (apparently).

The Numbers:
Number of times I was featured in the Daily Free Press: 1
Number of times I was featured in “Overheard at BU”: 2
Number of times I saw the Comm Ave Jogger Guy: about 5, all of them past midnight
Number of all-nighters: 3 (for studying, not for something else, you perverts)

The Superlatives:
- Best sense of humor: Mike C., Aziz Alawadhi
- Least lame: Miguel, Giselle
- Most awkward moment: Eating lunch with the undertakers.
- Funniest moment: Watching the inappropriately dubbed fake Arthur episode with Kayla H., Erin, Marisa P., Andrew R., and Sarah W.
- Favorite person to have meaningful conversations with: Ari
- Funniest quotes:
- 1) Carolyn G.: “At 10am tomorrow, i will attempt to reattach a severed cerebellum i removed on my own volition before my professor finds out.”
- 2)
mom: nathan, how did you meet him?
dad: why are you asking him so many questions?
mom: it’s good to ask questions to your children. it shows you care.
nathan: (sarcastically) he’s my drug dealer.
mom: see? at least now i know they have a good friendship going on.

Again, thank you for all the memories (and your time if you actually read this whole thing lol). Sorry I couldn’t include everyone in this note, nor could I tag everyone in it. But as always, I enjoyed your company, whether it was at a planned event or at an impromptu meal.

I’ll miss you guys over the summer, but I’ll also be looking forward to an even better year in my last at BU.

Keep in touch. I’m still making plans, but as for now, I’ll be in the NJ and New York City area. Let me know if you’d like to meet up.

Have a great summer. Be cool. Be safe. Be grateful. And all the other things your mother would tell you.

Love Always,
Nathan

went to the fitrec and super88 with connie, kristin, and vivian. connie tried to teach me how to dance hip-hop in one of the dance rooms lol. i tried to learn. i think we both failed. but she kept trying even when we got back to the myles hallway.

saturday:

i turned 21! thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday, whether in person, on the phone, or on facebook! after just hanging out in the dining hall for lunch and dinner, i went to sunset cantina for appetizers and a legal drink. will, thanks for paying for the two pina coladas (yes, i only like the girly drinks). and titi, thanks for coming out.

later at night, i played mario kart 64 with miguel, allen, will, christian a., stephanie s., and one of the twins.. (crap, i forgot which one already). thank you to rebecca and caroline for letting us borrow two controllers.

i’m trying to visit as many ethnic restaurants in boston as possible. if you have a recommendation or would like to go somewhere with me, let me know! =)

at night i went to the Salsa Gala at the Cambridge Hyatt with a bunch of my hispanic friends and their friends. i also bumped into vanessa and her friends. i walked home with jen and erika, two of the many new friends i made. today’s episode is brought to you by the word friend.

jen: did you know all those people you danced with?
nathan: yeah.
jen: oh, we thought u were just really good at picking up girls.

by the way, jacqueline and i were the only non-lame people for dancing the whole night instead of sitting in the lounge or leaving early.

As always, I am indebted to the wonderful people I am lucky enough to know. To make the following list of memories, sometimes I had to look through my journal. I’m aware that I don’t remember every little detail about what we did together, but I do remember how you all made me feel.

Here is the list of my precious memories. You can only imagine what my list of cherished feelings would be.

- Moving in early for jury duty.. and living off practically nothing until my family came up with my stuff (Lauren, thanks for the pillow lol). This year I’m living in Myles Standish Hall, which is a short walk from Fenway Park and used to be Babe Ruth’s favorite hotel.

- Considering no cases needed a jury that day even though we still had to be there for hours, jury duty sucked. But the hot girl who followed me from the court and all around Quincy Market didn’t. (No pun intended.)

- My suitemates Allen and Walker moving in.

- Meeting my floormates: Rebecca, Caroline, Sara J., Connie, Serra, Brittany, Stephanie, Leighanne, Siobhan, Han, Nicolae, Aiesha, Ashley, Sarah S., Jalpa (Jigish’s cousin.. lol), Joon, Hilah, Kathryn, Sara P. (yes, the one from high school), Monika, Julie, and Jodi.

- Dance party at Jordan’s place with Stephanie C., Maria, Titi, Walker, Alan, Alyshia, and Alex P. (not including the group of 10 girls who didn’t go.. haha).

- Lobster night in the dining halls with Lauren, Allen, and Walker (yes, that’s the food a $40,000 tuition pays for).

- Walking barefoot with our crotches sticking out while singing “All That Jazz” after giving and receiving massages in acting class (yes, that’s the education a $40,000 tuition pays for). David, thank you for teaching the class!

- The skate shop being closed when Monika, Julie M., Stephanie T., and I got there… and me not bringing my figure skates. But we got to see Aurora’s elegant skating and Monika’s ninja do-rag.

- The ThinkFast trivia game with Sara T., Julie S., and Laura P. on my team. Out of 41 teams, we were first place in round one and third place in round two, but we didn’t win the $1000 prize. Special thanks to our “cheerleaders” Monika, Julie M., and Stephanie T.. haha.

- Carolyn’s dorm for her little get-together, followed by Frank Santos, the R-rated hypnotist.

- Seeing John again, my favorite West Campus janitor from when I lived there.

- Employing weird techniques to get people to join the two clubs I was representing at the Fall Activities Expo.

- MIT frat party with Connie, Serra, and Serra’s friends. (Their dance floor had stripper cages for people to use!)

- Sara P. constantly asking me for my colored pencils or stapler (does that sound familiar from 6th grade math class?).

- The BU Leadership Conference with inspirational keynote speaker Robert Pruitt. Hearing everyone’s “vision,” untangling ourselves from the human knot, hugging each other at the silent thank-you session, and of course meeting Mike, Becca, and Lauren S., among many others.

- Because it was required for a class, I saw six movies in the theaters this semester. That’s more than I’ve seen in the six years prior to this semester.

- The mysterious bras, panties, and naughty nurse notes outside my door (on several occasions).

- Walker and Miguel talking about the English essays they had to write. My suggestions for their topics.. lol.

- BU’s Funniest Student competition with my floormates, then the basketball Midnight Madness, then back to my dorm. Then back to West with Connie and Allen for pancakes we didn’t get. Then the Asian fob party where we felt very uncomfortable. Then watching “28 Weeks Later.” Then back to Myles.

- Seeing “Man of La Mancha,” “Tartuffe,” and “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” (where I saw my teacher dragged across the floor. Are ya feelin it, David?)

- Helping Dave G. and Kelly G. with their film (well, it was Dave’s, but as a bystander, Kelly had an awful lot of input.) Playing with the handcuffs! Wink wink.

- Dinner in Chinatown with Chang, Mike C., and Katie. Squab, gorilla rape songs, and the angry waiter.

- Carolyn’s birthday party. (I gave her the gift of shelter. No, really, I gave her a new house.)

- Cathy and Aaren reading their sex quotes from their play at Late Nite.

- “The Party Doctor” and “Twilight Zone” videos. (Randy, thank you for acting!)

- A class trip to the Coolidge Corner Theater for the “Beyond Thumbs Up” film critics discussion featuring famous essayist Phillip Lopate, Boston Globe’s Ty Burr, and many others. Especially academically-rewarding.. errr entertaining.. was Lopate insulting David Sterritt.

- Finding Erin at her sorority’s date auction at Northeastern.

- Dim sum with the Chinese Student Association. Paul’s shui mei dropping in his glass of water.

- The Red Sox riots right outside my dorm when they won the World Series. The hundreds of cops in riot gear, the barking K9s.. and of course all the stupid stuff people did, including climbing street signs, flashing boobs, and lighting aerosol cans on fire. Will was my riot-seeking but danger-avoidance buddy. The riot near my dorm was on the breaking news on TV.. haha.

- Auditioning actors for our videos. The absurd requests some of my classmates gave to the actors.

- Monopoly with Connie, Kristin, and Vivian. Connie shuffling the cards I just sorted and all the other ways she seemed drunk lol.

- Some memories from the People-Watching Club: watching the Boston Common anti-war rally (I’ve never seen so many potential Santa Clauses), our group influence experiment in the GSU and my cell phone gig, meeting Andrea and Emily W., and finally meeting Amanda G.

- Halloween with Stephanie C., Maria, Dan L., Mike, and Stan on Ashford Street (notice I didn’t say at a party.) Being paid for people to read the note on my crotch. Maria as Juan! Watching “The Shining” afterwards.

- COM Prom with Sam U. (the sister of a camper this summer), Sandy O., Alexis, Mina, and Greg G. I also met Dana, Yue, and Lulu. Everyone looked gorgeous!

- Salsa dancing at La Fuerza’s Pachanga with Arjun, Josh M., Giselle, Jacqueline L., Andres, Matt N., and Emily D. Inventing random moves with Giselle and Jacqueline.. haha.

- Allen bringing back free Chinese food from his uncle’s restaurant. (He better do that more often next semester..)

- Some memories from the juggling club:
- Juggling battle with Andrew L. and Michi. Races with Chris H. Playing soccer while juggling with Michi.
- Kelley’s visits to our segment of the gym.
- Jessica K. writing an article about us.
- Learning a new move with balancing a dodgeball on my foot while doing an underleg trick.
- The poi and diablo group Spin Jam joining our meeting place and time.
- What I said to the group of karate girls waiting outside the gym.
- The little kids who were in the gym for something else but who were glued to our club. They were so adorable when I was teaching them how to juggle. (They even said that just because of our club, they’re gonna apply to BU when they grow up!)

- The Sensasian Asian culture show – organized by the Chinese Student Association.

- Taping Samuel and the BU men’s soccer game vs UNH.

- Eating at Shanghai Gate with Chang, Isabella, and Ping.

- Dinner with Titi, Liz, Dana, and Dana’s friends (although I would like to erase the peanut butter napkin from my memory).

- Sandy O.’s floor and her help when I was day-hosting someone who wanted to know about the pre-med program.

- Seeing Melody and Tetyana at the Museum of Fine Arts for the Iranian Film Festival’s “The Willow Tree.” Meeting their friends Ariana and Jennifer K. Dancing down the streets to get to J.P. Licks.

- Making Thanksgiving cards for a children’s hospital. The black card I made that Sarah W. wouldn’t allow me to use. (C’mon, it was creative!)

– Going back to New Jersey and celebrating Thanksgiving at my mom’s cousin’s house (which had its own disco dance floor, a bar, and a bridge and stream in its garden). Playing cards and pool with my siblings, cousins, and first-cousins-second-twice-third-removed-fourth-put-back, or whatever their relation was to me.