2015 in Review

December 28, 2015Leave a comment

learned a lot about privilege
learned a lot about how my past affects my everyday
learned a lot about people

stretched my heart like taffy for my organization
staged my heart for an audience
strung my heart on the line for myself

a winter of heads held high
a spring of finding edges to sharpen–and to cut
a summer of stuttering and shimmering
a fall of realization, sacrifice, and humility

the time to shine is subjective
BE YOU
pay attention to those who pay you attention

growing up is hard to do
treating yourself (taking care of yourself) is important
do what you need to do

Overall, it’s been a great year. A year of so much growth; personally, academically, and professionally. I’m thankful for all the good times and everyone who spent them with me. To the trying times, thanks to you too–for pushpushpushing me.

Here’s to 2016.

I staged my play and now I’m a third of the way done with the school year: a fall quarter recap

December 9, 2015December 23, 2015Leave a comment

Holy cow. My first quarter of my last year of college is over. Holy cow.

It’s weird saying those types of things now. Like, it’s my last year of college. I was here last year… and the year before that… and the year before that. Three years ago, I finished my first quarter of my first year in college. TIME. TIME is a strange phenomenon. I never thought I’d actually ever get to this point, but here we are. About 7 months away from graduation.

…

But I’m going to try to not think about that. For now.

For now, I will be content. Content and happy and pleased and relieved with what the past 10 weeks have given me. From moving into a new apartment to taking a Communications class I didn’t need to take to finishing my play to staging my play to rallying for social and racial justice to taking naps – it was a jammed quarter to say the least. That’s the way I like it. Or maybe I’ve just trained myself to like it after three years of busying myself. Or maybe I’m in denial.

Whatever way you spin it, I’m not sure I’ve been more grateful in my entire four years at SCU. Or maybe even my life. Never have I been so grateful, reflective, and proud. It’s one thing to write something and it’s one thing for people to read it and it’s a completely other thing for people to see it and connect with it. Some people might not understand this, but – writers are really self-conscious. We write what’s in our heads… and then get really nervous when people read it or hear it and it’s like the be all end all. That’s what it feels like for me.

Hapa Cup of Sugar was a piece of me. And I have the honor and privilege to share that with hundreds (hundreds) of people. I still can’t believe it. It’s so hard to put my thoughts and feelings about the entire project into words. (I’ll have to because I’ve got about three final reports to do on it, oh geez.)
Aside from that lil thing, this quarter treated me just about the same as any other quarter. I took a class in the COMM department called Media and Social Movements. We learned about the Anti-Nike campaign, the revolution in Egypt, and consumer citizenship. It was nice to take a class purely because I was interested in it. My favorite class this quarter.

I also got heated about student apathy and diversity at SCU, but that seems like a norm now. Which is awful. We’re working on it. By “we,” I mean a small group of students. Sigh.

That’s pretty much it for a recap of the quarter. I’ll write a 2016 goals (fears??) post soon, too.
In the meantime, I hope you also reflect on your quarter. I hope it treated you well – or that you dominated finals, at least!

Summer 2015 Recap

September 20, 2015December 23, 2015Leave a comment

Welp, it’s the end of another summer and it went by in the blink of an eye, as usuaaaal. Now we’re at the time of year when everyone’s smiling and hugging each other asking, “How was your summer??” and “I like your haircut!!!”

My summer can be summed up in three words:

Work hard anyways.

This summer was the first time I worked 8-5, Monday to Friday. 40 hours a week. I commuted an hour to work and an hour back home every weekday. It was exhausing. Work hard anyways. I learned a ton at my internship/job – lots about project management and communication. I’m so fortunate to have landed this job with a superb, energetic supervisor and a friendly office!

However, it was a challenge to get used to working all day every day. I learned a lot about myself and how I function with that much work. I also learned how to take care of my back and feet when you’re sitting in front of a computer for that long every day. Work hard anyways.

Another big thing that happened this summer was organizing “Staging Hapa.” This, as you might be able to tell, is a huuuuuge project for me. It means a ton to me – the story and reaching my peers at SCU. It also means a lot to me that my friends who have supported me thus far have stuck with me. I’m so grateful that these dear friends are working on something so meaningful to me! I couldn’t do it without their support ❤ I have a lot of faith in this project, but you never know what type of wrenches might get thrown into the mix. Work hard anyways.

I learned so much about myself in a variety of ways this summer – one of them also being controlling how I act and react. In case you didn’t know, not everyone is going to agree with you. Some people are going to suck and give you a hard time. Work hard anyways. And sometimes, even the people you care about the most will disagree with you. They won’t understand you and you won’t understand them. Work hard anyways.

When it was tough – work hard anyways. When no one else really seemed to understand – work hard anyways. When I got FOMO – work hard anyways. When I know anything I do may just fail – work hard anyways. When I really don’t want to do anything but mope – work hard anyways.

It was definitely a summer of growth. Annnd as I grew and learned, I also did a handful of superfun things: went to PRIDE, watched Book of Mormon, went kayaking, watched Hooded, or Being Black for Dummies, turned 21, rode a cable car, ate ice cream, watched Phantom of Opera, and went to the beach.

I’ve been waiting for weeks for senior year to finally start. Now that it’s finally on my door step…work hard anyways.

Staging Hapa

September 2, 2015December 23, 2015Leave a comment

I want to share a quick update about a big project I have embarked on.

Last school year, I wrote a play, Hapa Cup of Sugar. Hapa follows 22-year-old fresh-out-of-college Leila. Leila works in her parents’ laundromat with her younger sister and brother. She moves through the world as a hapa, someone who is bi-racial. As she learns how others perceive her, Leila tries to figure out what happens next in her life.

I had the privilege of putting on a staged reading of Hapa through SCU’s “New Playwrights’ Festival.” It was an awesome experience working with a director and a cast! I loved seeing my words come to life right before my eyes (it was super surreal).

That was just the first part, though.

Now, I have been privileged to receive the Hackworth Grant from my school’s ethics center to stage my play for real. That means with a cast, with a set, with costumes, with lights… in front of my classmates and peers! THIS IS HUGE!

The whole reason I started even thinking about writing this play back in Spring 2014 was to tell a story about someone who was different and to tell that story to my school. I feel so blessed to have been given this opportunity, to share my words with the SCU community.

But I also feel empowered and responsible. The point of my project Staging Hapa Cup of Sugar is to combat racism. It’s to tell a story about a girl who has not only graduated college, but who was also the first to graduate from college in her family, who grew up bi-racial in the Bay Area and was thrown into a school populated primarily by white people, who takes care of her siblings in a low-income home. I believe that this story needs to be shared with the community in order to create more understanding of race and diversity at SCU.

For those of you that know me, you know that I have been heavily involved with the Multicultural Center at school. I spent my first year at SCU on the Japanese Student Association board (I am not Japanese, just curious about the culture!) and I dedicated the past two years on MCC Staff. As a senior, I will continue to dedicate my time to diversity and inclusion through Staging Hapa.

Part of Staging Hapa is producing the play and another part is socially engaging with SCU students. We are starting a dialogue around diversity on social media, tabling in front of Benson, and conducting a talk-back discussion after the performances. Stay tuned for more information!

You will definitely see more of Staging Hapa without a doubt! Check us out on social media starting next week and check out the play on November 18 and 19 in the Fess Parker Studio.

TLDR; I wrote a play and now it’s really happening!!! Thanks for reading! Ask for details!

You Can’t Win if You Don’t Play: 2014 – 2015 in Review

June 13, 2015December 23, 2015Leave a comment

Things I Learned Over the Last Nine Months:

Stand your ground and stand firm
Let things go
Take time for yourself
You’re a boss
No one else has to understand and not everyone needs to know
People who want to be in your life will let you know
People who don’t want to be in your life will show you
Being in love is easy
Being in a relationship is challenging
Things will work out one way or another
It’s the little things
If you open up, others will fill in the gaps
Not everyone will like you 100% of the time
Not everyone has to
Your words and actions may have larger impacts than you think

It’s been a long year to say the least, but it’s finally over. I had my hand of balancing studies, work, and personal life. I had my hand of unforgettable memories. I had my hand of disappointments and hard decisions. After the long Monday nights, writing a play, and learning more and more about the people around me, I can say that Junior Year was by far the toughest year. But because of its challenges, it was also the most rewarding year. I’m proud of the work I did, the people I met, and everything we accomplished together. 🙂 Next up: Senior Year!