Commencement Issue Part II

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ComMENCEMENT

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Best college experience won’t be perfect Kellyn It Kellyn Kawaguchi Copy Editor

@LoyolanOpinion

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f you’re expecting me to tell you that these past four years at LMU have been an absolute fairytale, I’m sorry to disappoint you. My time on the Bluff has been a fantastic combination of the highest highs riddled with the lowest lows. All together, it has been far from perfect.

But that lack of perfection is honestly everything I could have asked for in a college experience.

The idea that perfection equates to success is silly to me because I believe everyone is constantly growing into his or her own skin – we’re never done evolving. Yet, I feel like a lot of people view collegiate success as achieving everything you want to right off the bat and then moving on to get an excellent job right after graduation.

I disagree with this. Success stems from growth. Anything that helps you grow is a triumph in itself, as long as you learn from the experience.

What has made the last four years at LMU most meaningful to me is that, from the moment I first stepped on campus, I have not stopped learning. I mean, of course, we’re in college; we’re here to study, but what I love most about our school is that our education is not only found inside the classroom, but outside

as well.

I have learned that there are some instances in which people will be disrespectful and selfish, and worst of all, apathetic. It’s not because they’re bad people; it’s simply because they’re human and fight for different passions.

But I have also seen LMU students, staff and faculty exhibit unchecked generosity and love toward one another and that sort of kindness is inspiring.

What’s most relevant right now to me as a senior is that, through my experiences at LMU, I have learned not to fear whatever happens after graduation. Post-grad life shouldn’t be thought of as an awful jump into an ugly abyss of uncertainty. After my education at LMU, I’m looking forward to the new challenges life will hurl at me because I know that, whatever they may be, I can handle them. My professors, advisers and friends have prepared me for that, whether they know it or not.

For me, working as a freshman for Michelle Ko, then director of Asian Pacific Student Services (APSS), allowed me to establish a sense of identity as an Asian American. My introduction to the wonderfully supportive Asian Pacific Islander community on LMU’s campus could not have been better and I’m so happy and proud to have been a part of it.

Other communities I’m honored to have been associated with include the family I found in Isang Bansa, the phenomenally hard workers in the ASLMU of-

fice, the beautiful students who accompanied me on the Alternative Break trip to Pine Ridge, South Dakota, and the incredible people working at the Loyolan.

There are a few individuals who I absolutely need to thank as well. I want to say thank you to Dr. Mimi Wong for advising me during my co-presidency of the Asian Pacific Student Association and to current Director of APSS Aris Mosier for telling me he was proud of me when I needed to hear it most. And finally, a huge thanks is owed to my mentor, Professor John Kissell, for helping me find my voice in journalism and for always keeping his door open.

And last, but always first in my heart, I want to say thank you to my family. Because without them, I wouldn’t be anywhere close to the person I am today.

You have colored my life with the best kind of happiness and I dedicate every success of mine to you.

I wholeheartedly believe life is about striving to be the best possible version of yourself and I have all of these people to thank for having helped shape me into who I am today. And, I’m pleased to say, I’m not finished growing yet.

These formative four years of our lives are really whatever we choose them to be. It’s empowering and frightening at the same time, but I’ve seen people take that freedom and run with it, crashing and burning as they go.

And it’s the most exciting thing when they stand right back up and keep running.

We focus so much on the things we’ve enjoyed. We skim over the hardships, whether they were minor or major, and we try to forget them because they hurt us.

But in the end, no matter what it was, everything we experience – whether we’re merely bruised or broken to the point where we need to put ourselves together again – is an experience to cherish, because it changed us.

I love everything that has come my way during my time here and I welcome any new challenges.

I think that’s what’s made my

experience here not perfect by definition, but perfect for me because it’s been exactly what I needed as an individual to grow.

So, to everyone at LMU, from my professors to my advisers, friends and colleagues, ups and downs, thank you for helping me write my definition of myself.

This is the opinion of Kellyn Kawaguchi a senior English major from Irvine, Calif. Tweet comments to @LoyolanOpinion, or email kkawaguchi@theloyolan.com.

Via Kellyn Kawaguchi

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ComMENCEMENT

Get lost abroad to find yourself Lauren Slack

Copy Editor @LoyolanOpinion

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o abroad. Get off the Bluff and out of the country.

It seems a little sacrilegious to spend my senior column convincing my peers to spend a chunk of time away from the school that is awarding me a degree, but hear me out. I didn’t truly appreciate my experience at LMU until I came back from spending a semester abroad in Spain.

I spent my first four semesters of undergrad involved in classes, numerous clubs and organizations, hanging out with friends and working at multiple random workstudy positions, all in hopes of finding that one résumé item that would singlehandedly meld me into the model LMU student. I thought I was well on track to achieve these goals during my sophomore year, but it wasn’t until I was back from studying abroad in Spain that I realized I was wrong.

In Spain, between frequent weekend travels, art history assignments at museums and copious amounts of sangria, there wasn’t much time for extracurricular involvements - I know, what a great problem to have, right? Any extra sports, clubs or service required careful scheduling and a more deliberate commitment

than usual. I joined a program called t-OIGO (“I hear you”) to tutor a hearing-impaired 8-yearold boy in English. Our weekly sessions became some of the most rewarding experiences I had during my semester abroad. In a country where I constantly looked to others to translate for me, direct me to the Metro and provide me with travel advice, I was rejuvenated in a setting where my help was needed and appreciated.

After an amazing four months abroad, I found myself back at LMU ,cleaning up the aftermath of a messy break-up, questioning the depth of my friendships and nursing serious cases of culture shock and nostalgia. It took some time to comprehend what I had gained from

my time across the world.

Getting lost and learning to navigate foreign cities gave me the confidence to navigate new relationships and the endless internship search back at home.

My extra time in Madrid was spent discovering my Spanish passions – coffee shops, markets, flamenco and Parque del Retiro – instead of mindlessly joining clubs at LMU because “everyone else was doing it.” Exploring a new city inspired me to more deliberately explore L.A. when I returned back, to see what I had been missing and to spend time doing things that I enjoyed simply because they made me happy.

Traveling all over the world in just four months also taught me

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to be more apprehensive with my trust - I now only had the desire to spend time with people who encouraged me to grow as a person; I stopped resisting the dissolution of friendships and instead let them run their course.

I returned to LMU with a strong desire to acclimate back into campus life and found activities, like those I partook in while in Madrid, that truly invigorated me. I was hired as an Orientation leader; spending time with incoming freshmen that were thrilled to be Lions was the best way to renew my love for LMU. Serving on the Special Games Committee and a new job at the Loyolan also filled my days in the next three semesters and helped positively shape my college

experience. I have truly felt in my element this year, and because of that I assure you that it is never too late to uproot and carve a new path if you find yourself lost.

I realized that the model LMU student I had spent so much time trying to become is impossible, because in reality, there is no model LMU student. Our differences combined are how we excel as a student body, and it took me four months away to realize that.

I think we put too much pressure on ourselves here, trying to succeed at everything we do – it may take time to find your niche. Do all of your involvements truly invigorate you?

Whether or not you feel satisfied thus far in your college career, go abroad for a semester or a summer.

If class schedules or financial situationss make this impossible, then go on an Alternative Break, Ignacio Companions or De Colores trip. Embark on an experience that challenges your priorities and your values, and understand that you may not realize the true value of your experience until you return.

Class of 2014, it’s time to take one last look around and attempt to cement this campus into our memory, with the knowledge that it too will probably have an entirely new meaning a few years down the road.

This is the opinion of Lauren Slack, a senior psychology major from Broomfield, Colo. Tweet comments to @LoyolanOpinion, or email dfeldman@theloyolan.com.

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You had many rough times, but kept your eyes on the prize and fought your way through.

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ComMENCEMENT

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‘Question yourself’ to get the most out of LMU Run ‘N’ Tell Dat Kim Tran

Staff Writer

@LoyolanOpinion

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look back on my last four years will perhaps demonstrate that youth is in fact wasted on the young. But isn’t that always the case? I heard everything I’m about to say when I first came to LMU, and as an ignorant, defiant “young person,” I ignored it all.

And though I have matured and grown wiser about the world as a result of the last four years, I can say with absolute confidence that I have no idea what my next step is.

So as a disclaimer, this column includes no advice on feeling secure come graduation day.

What I can also say with confidence, however, is that my experiences, my successes and accomplishments, obstacles and failures, and all of the relationships I made and maintained over the course of my college career are what will guide me as I figure it all out.

The most clichéd idea of college is that it’s a time to “find yourself” or to “figure out who you are.” I can’t say that I have done either.

I’m still figuring it out every day.

But I think I at least know better how to do it.

I am merely a remnant of the person I was four years ago. I came to LMU with one goal in mind – to be rich. Filthy rich. And I centered

my life on creating and following a path that would get me there. I understood the value of hard work and I was willing to make sacrifices left and right if it meant that I would be better off financially in the long run.

And then I went abroad. That changed everything. I almost didn’t because I was so obsessed with résumé building, I couldn’t bear the thought of losing a semester to do one more internship.

But I took a risk, and I owe so much of who I am to that experience.

Traveling the world, I realized how big it actually is. Immersing myself in other cultures, I discovered different values and ways of thinking. It encouraged me to ask the big questions – to evaluate my own values, aspirations and true desires.

I had never done that before.

Which leads me to this piece of advice: question yourself.

We put so much emphasis on “finding your passion” and “discovering yourself” but it’s not just about pursuit – so much of it is looking at who you are now and questioning what you believe and what you truly want.

Part of this is opening yourself to experiences. Taking risks. Putting yourself in difficult positions so you can test your limits. It’s about committing to things and giving them your all, even if you don’t like what you’re doing, because youth isn’t about just doing everything you want. It’s about doing what you can and need to do, to the best of your ability so you can figure out

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what it is you truly want.

I learned this a little late. But as I look back on my time at LMU, I think that I did inadvertently learn a lot.

I joined clubs and engaged in numerous activities – mostly to put them on my résumé. But my takeaway was much greater.

Working for the Loyolan, joining Alpha Phi and being on the Relay for Life Committee, doublemajoring and all of the activities I chose to commit myself to because I wanted a stronger résumé gave me much more than just another bullet point. The feeling of giving a voice to others, of working for a cause I believe in, of helping the

marginalized – these far exceeded anything I had been looking for.

Along the way, I have met some amazing people and consistently had the support of my family to help me muddle through the journey of discovering who I am, and that has been the best part. As I built relationships through my experiences, I felt more comfortable taking more risks and pursuing opportunities because I knew I had a support system that wouldn’t let me fall.

I think that if you want to find yourself, you have to question yourself. You have to put yourself in foreign situations to test yourself. You have to take people along

for the journey, because those relationships will be your greatest assets through it all.

I wish I had learned to appreciate all of these things earlier and had not wasted my youth. But maybe that’s what life is. Maybe you are supposed to learn these things when you’re ready to question yourself, so that you never forget, and so that every day moving forward you become a better and better person and get closer and closer to discovering who you are.

This is the opinion of Kim Tran, senior finance and communication studies double major from San Jose, Calif. Please send comments to dfeldman@theloyolan.com.

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ComMENCEMENT

A non-college dropout speaks Totally Tierney

Tierney Finster Staff Writer

@LoyolanOpinion

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ike Lana Del Rey, I often feel like my life is a dream I’m living in. I’ve spent countless days and nights staring up at the sun and moon, laughing and crying at how ridiculously surreal my life has been. I will always remember my three and a half years at LMU as a hilarious experiment, a dream that unfolded slowly but surely, revealing some of the most important moments and people in my life.

My randomly assigned roommate, Michelle, turned out to be my best friend, my unwavering rock and my relentless comic relief. We figured this out on our first night together, our toes almost touching as we slept in one of the most disgusting dorm rooms imaginable. The following year we slept in a larger but equally disgusting room in the center of campus, and eventually moved in to a big, disgusting house down the street. Michelle taught me the power of mutual vulnerability, bolstered my constantly dissipating sanity and acted as the best scene partner imaginable.

The scene, of course, was LMU – a beautifully manicured oasis with a private school sensibility foreign to both Michelle and myself. We fully participated in the college experience, but often considered it a

case study – a sea of characters for us to cherish and dissect. The frat guys who became increasingly enamored with Michelle as her appearance became increasingly androgynous.

The surfer girl and animal lover whose father picked her up for weekends at home in a helicopter.

The girl known to pass gas in class.

All the barefoot philosophy majors.

The seemingly uniform blondes in Tory Burch flats, cradling bizarre secrets in their Longchamp bags.

The drunken stranger outside of Iggy’s who told me he sometimes made out with his cousin. The class friends who became real friends.

Thank you to all the freaks that thought we were freaks, and thus showed us your truest selves. You blew our minds and we love you for it. I came to school to learn how to tell stories better, and while I loved my screenwriting major and professors, nobody taught me how to do so better than Michelle.

Matched with Alberto’s spirit, talent and work ethic, there are few people I believe in as much as I do the “OG 3.”

LMU gave me the world – literally. This part of the dream was embedded with the nightmare of truth. Never having left the United States, I signed up for a trip to Cambodia my first month of school.

I most remember Siem Reap’s smiling faces, the beauty of Angkor Wat and the pleasure of eating mangoes plucked right off the tree.

But Cambodia also showed me the Killing Fields, the scenic leftovers of genocide and the sites bombed by

the U.S. during the Vietnam War, so close to my new friends’ homes.

The following year, I traveled to Israel and the West Bank with LMU’s Senior Vice President Lane Bove and a group of students with whom I now share an inexplicable bond.

I dined with displaced families in refugee camps, watched Palestinian men herded and harassed at apartheid-like checkpoints and road barriers and witnessed how dramatically different life is on either side of Israel’s separation barrier fence. I saw remnants of homes randomly demolished by the Israeli government in Bethlehem, where I also received communion at the Church of the Holy Nativity and drank tea with shop owners whose only request was peace. I met Palestinian and Israeli activists equally committed to change, who were able to articulate what is often billed as a complicated situation quite simply and lovingly.

Finally, I returned to the Middle East, to Jordan, with an all-female delegation. I smoked hookah with Syrian War refugees in Irbid, 40 minutes from the Syrian border and shared bus seats with Iraqi refugees uprooted by U.S. military action during the Iraq War. They shared their snacks and their blessings with me. I took selfies with Jordanian mothers and sharpened my understanding of Arab history through their personal narratives.

“Mashallah.” I thank Program Coordinator Jessica Viramontes and the Center for Service and Action for these opportunities, for their

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commitment to grassroots learning, for their encouragement of wellinformed activism and for their actualization of LMU’s pursuit of social justice.

There’s so much more to say, and such little space to do so. Niko, a childhood best friend, became my adult best friend and professional colleague. He makes every single day better. Niko helped me realize my best self, encouraged me to skip class and made sure I sometimes rushed through my homework in order to fully live. I’m glad I did. A

new friend, Matthew, became my sister, my soul mate and my muse.

Today, I realize how glad I am to have attended school in Los Angeles, so close to my huge extended family and my parents. Nobody has invested more in me than Shannon and Jeff. I hope one day you are satisfied with your return. You are all crazy, thank God. This is the opinion of Tierney Finster, a senior screenwriting and English double major from Los Angeles, Calif. Tweet comments to @LoyolanOpinion, or email dfeldman@theloyolan.com.

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