My tiny baby sister got into UCLA last night. I'm very, very proud of her. Story time: I transferred to UCLA in my junior year, which turned out to be the right way to do it. Being at Santa Cruz left me so desperately bored that I started something called a "blawg," which ended up dictating the rest of my future. Had I started at UCLA -- a substantially larger, more challenging, more involving place -- I probably would have joined a bunch of clubs, sat in on more lectures, ate more 25 cent cookies (and dollar cookie-ice cream sandwiches), and gone to law school. Odds are high that I'd be a tool -- as opposed to a nerd -- by now. As it was, by the time I got to UCLA, I was writing at Pandagon, and shortly thereafter, I spun off into my own Typepad site, and the daily pull of blogging easily overwhelmed the university experience I was supposed to have. One night, I found myself sitting on the lobby couch at the Hilgard House and complaining to virtual friend Matt Yglesias that studying for midterms was a drag. He suggested I apply for The American Prospect writing fellowship (which is accepting applications right now, incidentally). I did, I got it, I graduated early, and I moved out to DC. The next year -- the year I was supposed to graduate -- the fellowship was canceled for lack of funds. My future would have been entirely different if I had started at UCLA, or stayed the full 2 years after transferring.So I guess, Lili, my advice is that UCLA does nothing but stand in the way of your dreams. But enjoy it anyway! And congratulations! CONGRATULATIONS!
My tiny baby sister got into UCLA last night. I'm very, very proud of her. Story time: I transferred to UCLA in my junior year, which turned out to be the right way to do it. Being at Santa Cruz left me so desperately bored that I started something called a "blawg," which ended up dictating the rest of my future. Had I started at UCLA -- a substantially larger, more challenging, more involving place -- I probably would have joined a bunch of clubs, sat in on more lectures, ate more 25 cent cookies (and dollar cookie-ice cream sandwiches), and gone to law school. Odds are high that I'd be a tool -- as opposed to a nerd -- by now. As it was, by the time I got to UCLA, I was writing at Pandagon, and shortly thereafter, I spun off into my own Typepad site, and the daily pull of blogging easily overwhelmed the university experience I was supposed to have. One night, I found myself sitting on the lobby couch at the Hilgard House and complaining to virtual friend Matt Yglesias that studying for midterms was a drag. He suggested I apply for The American Prospect writing fellowship (which is accepting applications right now, incidentally). I did, I got it, I graduated early, and I moved out to DC. The next year -- the year I was supposed to graduate -- the fellowship was canceled for lack of funds. My future would have been entirely different if I had started at UCLA, or stayed the full 2 years after transferring.So I guess, Lili, my advice is that UCLA does nothing but stand in the way of your dreams. But enjoy it anyway! And congratulations! 
