When I was fourteen years old, I fully believed that I would never make it out of the Central Valley. I was blinded by a generational cycle of poverty that was reinforced by endless fields of agricultural crops. The very same food that you eat without a second thought holds my people captive. I can see the consequences in...
You might have heard before that the key to forming successful relationships in college is by being an outgoing person: not being shy when someone sits next to you in lecture and always being the one who asks questions in class. The burden of making lifelong connections suddenly now weighs on your shoulders alone. A major component to becoming...
College can be a very polarizing time for students as stepping into a new environment is always intimidating. The “college experience” is unique in the fact that it's been painted by the mainstream media as a time of pure recklessness in a young person's life. Oftentimes, college students are depicted as “party animals” who care more about getting wasted...
College is the perfect time to explore your identity, and you shouldn’t waste your time trying to become someone you're not. Growing up, you may have heard someone say the following phrase: “College is the best four years of your life.” While the sentiment may be a little misleading, for many people it actually holds some truth. College, for...
It’s almost surreal to say that I haven’t been in a physical classroom in over a year. Like many others, the pandemic hit right at the end of my senior year of high school, and I spent my first year of college completely online as well. The pandemic has definitely made some aspects of college work very difficult, especially...
Enduring an online fall quarter at UCR was not easy. Class formats were inconsistent, and I felt completely alone and overwhelmed with the amount of work assigned to me. When midterms season hit, I was not prepared, and I did not feel supported by my professors. Some instructors focused way too much on invasive proctoring and withholding resources instead...
In addition to the many other challenges incoming students face, some must also face a difficult decision — whether or not they will be single during their first year at UCR. Whether your significant other is a year younger than you and still in high school or you both are going to different universities, these choices may appear to...
The death of George Floyd and multiple other black people has reignited media coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement. Both traditional and social media have been covering the protests and riots over this unjust loss of life nonstop. The pictures being broadcasted look like they are from the Civil Rights era and not from 2020.
However, the tensions are...
I never would have thought that I would be one of the brave people out serving the community during the coronavirus pandemic. Whether it be working at a grocery store or a small ice cream shop, being an essential worker during this strange time has definitely been a humbling experience. Everything about my job has changed since the first...
Entering UC Riverside (UCR) as a freshman, I was the picture of optimism. The moment I stepped onto campus, I felt butterflies in my stomach and an exhilarating sense of anticipation. My first quarter at UCR was a whirlwind of welcome events, new faces and adjusting to dorm life. As the seasons changed into winter, I found myself feeling...