What I Will Miss the Most About UC Berkeley
Written by Mackenzie Albrecht.
“College will go by fast! Enjoy every moment!” said every parent and high school teacher ever. Yeah yeah, we all heard it when we graduated high school, nodded our head in disbelief, while trying to grasp the idea that we indeed have four more years of school. Four. Whole. Years. That’s 48 months. That’s 1,460 days! That’s 35,040 hours! How on earth will that go by “fast?”
That is what I thought to myself when I laid in my stiff Twin XL bed the first night in Unit 1, sharing a room with someone for the first time ever, staring at the ever daunting map of UC Berkeley, thinking how the heck will I be able to navigate through this huge (and hilly) campus to find my classes? What is Berkeley Time? How does one of my classes have 650 people in it? Man, this is going to be a long four years.
Fast forward 4 years. Wow. Time FLIES. I wish I could shake my naive 18-year-old self and say “It’s true, it’s true! College doesn’t last forever. Enjoy Every. Single. Moment. Please!”
I will be graduating in May (Woohoo!) and now that I am no longer playing D1 Volleyball and taking a reduced course load, I have found myself with a lot of free time to soak up the fleeting moments I have on this miraculous and world-renowned campus. I thought I would share some of the things I will miss most about Berkeley in hope that people with some time left can take a step back, express gratitude, and find enjoyment in the little things that this amazing school has to offer. I beg you to do this before you find yourself walking down that blue carpet in your fresh-pressed graduation gown, receiving your diploma in front of thousands of people, signaling that your undergraduate college career is officially over.
Some things I will miss the most include but are definitely not limited to:
-The breathtaking view of the Bay Area at sunset from Grizzly Peak
-The fear and excitement you feel simultaneously when you reach the top of the Campanile and get a full 360-degree view of the campus
-Cheering on my fellow student-athletes at their sporting events (Go Bears!)
-Sharing the classroom with some of the smartest people in the world
-Playing on the UC Berkeley Volleyball team
-Enjoying a coffee at Strada, Blue Door, the Musical Offering, International House, and Cafe Think
-Seeing the many colors of personalities that spread throughout Telegraph Ave.
-The short commute from Berkeley to San Francisco
-The unlimited clubs and groups on campus
-Decals
-Picking apart the brains of my insanely intelligent professors at their office hours
-The occasional riot
-The rich history that UC Berkeley represents and lives out every day
-Fine establishments such as Yogurt Park, Cafe Milano, Kips, etc. 😉
-Being only a few blocks or doors away from some of my best friends
-The ability to say I am attending the #1 public university in the world (that just feels great to say, you know?)
Obviously, my experience at Berkeley is unique to me, and many of you may share some of these with me, but everyone definitely has experienced their own amazing quirks about Berkeley that they love. I challenge you to fully appreciate these, give thanks, and enjoy it why you can.
To answer the questions that I thought on my first night of college: Four years later the campus is still huge, hilly, and confusing but you can do what I did and get a Vespa to wiz past traffic to get to class! You can believe this came in very handy when my volleyball practice at Haas Pavilion ended at 11:45 am and I had class at 12 pm at the Haas School of Business. Thank god for Berkeley Time. Unfortunately, I have heard from valid and trusted sources, that Berkeley Time, indeed, does not exist in the adult world, so enjoy the 10 minutes while you can, because that for sure will not last forever. And how can one of my classes have 650 people in it? This is because Wheeler Auditorium is home to some of the most sought after and legendary classes at UC Berkeley and therefore in the world (shout out Wealth and Poverty 103 taught by the small, but extremely powerful man, Robert Reich).
So have I enjoyed my last four years at Berkeley? Will I miss it immensely when it is my time to go? Definitely.
