The Final Curtain Call

At the end of the ballet Cinderella, each cast member took an individual bow, and they all gregariously united for a "final" cast bow. The curtains closed, and everyone thought it was over, when four of the main characters mischievously erupted out of the main curtain for one final bow. The lights dimmed, and that's when the audience knew for sure that the show had come to a close.


The gang in front of Columbia!

My morning began at an extremely early 6 AM. I gave my room one final tidy, bid my roommate a rather melancholy goodbye, and headed down the speedy elevator for one final time. I walked through my dorm's basement lobby and tried to recall all the fun times I had hanging out with my frien--HA, kidding, these moments of recollection are inexistent. I never actually hung out in my own lobby. I typically tried to walk past it as quickly as possible and observed those who actually did have friends in the building to "hang out with".  Attempting to avoid this awkwardness is the reason why I started taking the stairs mid-way through. Nonetheless, I will never forget the torture I endured by forcing myself to go up twelve flights of stairs every day, or the friends I made who put themselves through the exact same thing (Alex from the programming program on the tenth floor I will never forget you!). I walked out of Carman Hall's sketchy concrete-garage entrance for the last time feeling grateful to have had such a memory-filled building. I feel that each of my fellow cohort members had a similar individual "goodbye dorm building" experience, signifying our very first bow.

At exactly 6:50 AM, my cohort assembled at the Alma Mater, and later met up with Ms. Thrift and Rosie for the shuttle. During our wait, we had a quick conversation with the coolest security guard out there, Pericles! He prayed that we would have a safe flight back to California, and that we'd finally escape the drought. We even took a selfie with him!



Pericles the security guard!




Happy to say that I slept for about 80% of the flight!

After our shuttle, we headed towards JFK International Airport and endured our 6-hour flight. Taking off from the runway in New York signified our second bow as a group, as we were leaving the same way that we arrived: together.

Despite  our flight being delayed for over an hour, we eventually made it back home. Once our shuttle back to El Cerrito pulled up, we entered and braced ourselves for the heavy traffic taking place on I-80. This ride back was our last moment together on the trip, and I'm happy to say that it was spent reminiscing about all the wonderful times we spent.
When we arrived at EC, I immediately spotted my father's car in the driveway, as well as the notorious Don Gosney's mini van, and was immediately delighted. After taking a few snaps and talking about the trip, we all parted ways. Well temporarily, that is.



The final goodbye hug <3

We have the best poses, I've gotta say

When I got into the car, my dad surprised me with my favorite beverage: Taro flavored bubble tea! It was really great to be back. I've never felt more grateful to be driving on I-80 in traffic heading towards home. The first thing on my agenda when I got home was to jump into my bed and just breathe and smell the scent of my own sheets and room. Well, apparently I couldn't do that. On the car ride home, my dad told me that "oh, by the way, I moved a few things into your room while you were away." I was expecting a few boxes or books or any other type of small items, but what it turned out to be was a pile of all the things that had been previously harbored in a small closet downstairs--I couldn't even walk through my room! I joked with my dad "so is this what's going to happen when I go to college? You're going to turn my room into a storage closet!?!?" He just chuckled at me.

Since agenda item #1 wasn't a possibility, I moved onto the next best thing: a shower. Man, that was probably the best shower of my life. Not having to wear slippers or not having to worry about anyone else using the shower after me was AMAZING, not to mention the water pressure was great! I seriously just missed home so much. (The only thing I have left to worry about now is water conservation for that little drought we have. I would say that this statement is kinda raining on my parade, but I realized I can't since we haven't had any.)

My dad eventually relocated all of his things, so as soon as the opportunity became available I just passed out on my bed, uncertain if I would ever get up. I missed my bed so much, as well as my blankets and all my little stuffed animals (don't judge). Being away seriously made me appreciate my home so much more, it's really a great feeling.


Missed my little Panda Prod1gy!

As we take our final bow, we look back to all the wonderful memories, priceless bonds, and precious moments that we all shared together. It's been a good show, Columbia Cohort 2015. 

*lights fade into darkness*