Back to business

It's about that time again where I will have to leave behind my beloved hometown Los Angeles for my academic home in Philadelphia.

Even as an all-grown 19-year-old, I have to admit that I really like home and hanging out with my family. As an overprotected only child, I enjoy indulging in the comfort of being fully taken care of. In addition, Southern California is just a beautiful place with its amazing weather, and I will pick a car ride on the Pacific Coast Highway over SEPTA anytime.

Yet, I've never regretted coming all the way to the East Coast for college (yes, even when it's freezing cold in the winter and humid hot in the summer). I do look at my Philly & Jersey friends with envy when their parents come over with homemade cuisines. But in those times, I say to myself that I'm really lucky that home, because it's far away, is an even more special place in which I have greater excitement about going back. Blessed with the opportunity to study at Penn, I get to explore the "other side" of this country that otherwise I might not have a chance to experience.

Most importantly, overall experience at Penn both academically and socially is truly worth the miles I traveled and one that I would not trade for anything less. Where will I meet students from all over the world and get a chance to study at a beautiful urban campus located in one of America's oldest cities. Attending a college far, far away has made me realize that this education is so good, so worth it that I am wiling to sacrifice comfort and convenience, for I know that the marginal benefit is on my side.

It's always hard to look back at my parents in the airport waving until I disappear into the custom's line, but I know that even this is a privilege that I'm going to make the most of. I'm ready to take on the challenge of college for the third round and get down on my business, my duty as privileged student, at Penn again.