Author Archives: Ivana Lychee

Before attending this workshop, I was pretty confused about selecting courses and planning my schedule for Spring. Choosing from block schedules was a lot simpler, and required a lot less thinking. The workshop offered a lot of helpful information about where and how to register, and how to look for which classes to take. It made me realize that I must take registration seriously; I wouldn’t want to be stuck with a bad schedule. I must admit I didn’t remember everything from the workshop after a while, but luckily, I had friends who guided me. 🙂

… to try the food from the Cafe. Haha =x. (I’m not kidding.)

My first thought upon entering the Rubin Museum of Art was the appetite-enticing aroma that lingered in the air. Their Cafe was located on the ground floor, and it just smelled so good! I would’ve definitely sat down to try something on the menu if I wasn’t in a rush.

Anyways, I also noticed how serene the environment was, which was completely opposite from my past museum experiences. The museum wasn’t crowded at all, and it felt a bit too quiet when I constantly heard heels clicking on the floor.

I really loved the decor of the museum overall. The center spiral staircase was beautiful. I actually tripped a little while walking down the steps because my eyes were too busy admiring the way the stairs spiraled up. Additionally, The displays were very interesting. I was really excited when I saw a statue of some elephant god (my favorite animal is elephants). I was also amazed by another display of painting tools. It was of little plates holding crushed minerals and ores in different colors, and it showed some of the rocks its whole too. It’s so cool how that’s the way people painted with colors in the past.

I felt that the STARR workshop covered some very helpful material, but at the same time, I felt like I’ve heard the same things before. I have attended similar workshops before so I was doing my crossword puzzle half the time. I was very happy to know that I can get my resume reviewed at one of the offices (I forgot the name). It doesn’t apply to me yet though, since my resume is outdated.

Actually, come to think of it, I’ve never actually used my resume for my internships or interviews before. Well, I did fill out other forms though, which somewhat counts as a resume. I’ve heard from somewhere before that most people get their jobs through networking and other connections, rather than sending out sugarcoated resumes and cover letters. All my previous jobs were referred from friends. The only problem is that they’re not what I would want to do for the rest of my life. I only see these jobs as ways to gain experience until I enter my real career though.

So until then… I have two options for myself.
1. Meet someone who’s in the field I want to join.
2. Come up with a really good resume.
… I hope it’ll be the first one =D

I’ve never had the chance to meet an author before (though I did get to take a picture with a celebrity once**), so I guess it was pretty cool meeting Charles Li during the workshop. I must admit, I didn’t actually finish reading The Bitter Sea, but the part that I did read, was very touching and inspirational. I was even more inspired when Charles Li talked about how he came to find his identity in person.

**So about that time I took a picture with a celebrity… My parents and I were at Atlantic City for a concert, and when the concert ended, we went to eat. It just so happened that at the table next to us… was the singer who performed! He’s some Chinese singer and I’m not even sure what his name is, haha. I was very young at the time, maybe around 8, so I shamelessly went over to him with my cousin and asked for a picture. He was glad to take the picture with us… but here comes the stupid part: the picture was taken on his camera only. So to this day, I clearly remember the experience, but I’ll never see the picture again. =( This was totally irrelevant… but just a thought. Haha, I think I have A.D.D.

Identity. I’ve always felt like my identity is derived from everything around me rather than myself. I guess that it’s only natural, for people to be influenced by their surroundings, but it makes me wonder about who I really am. I feel like the morals of movies and stories have too much of an impact on how I see life. In a way, it’s good because it has made me a very optimistic and cheerful person. At the same time, I wonder if it’s really ME at all.

I don’t think I will ever settle with a certain identity though. I’m more than words can describe =).

The biggest dilemma I face every day is being alone at home. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it. My parents are always at work, and they usually come home in the middle of the night. Since I have no siblings, I’m always at home alone. On the bright side, I have a lot of freedom, but the downside is that it feels very lonely at times.

I have gotten use to this lifestyle since the beginning of high school. Since they’re never home, I have no set dinnertime and basically no curfew. Sometimes I eat at 7, sometimes at 9, or sometimes even at 11. It depends on when I have time to make food, or on when my parents can bring home food. At times I eat out with my friends, or I order take out.
My life often feels like a constant struggle for independence. I never wanted to grow up so fast. I was glad that I was capable of being independent, but at the same time, it felt unfair. Why couldn’t I have normal parents like everyone else who are actually home enough to take care of them? Since I had to be independent most of the time, I felt like I had to depend on my parents as much as possible when they were there, which can be very confusing. So how independent am I really being then?

Due to the lack of time I spend with my parents, I confide in only my close friends and myself. I choose to not tell my parents anything unless they ask, since I don’t think they’ll understand me anyway.

Many of my friends envy that my parents are never home to annoy me or to tell me what to do, but that actually only made things worse. I’m so used to my parents not bothering me that when they do tell me what to do, even when it’s for my own benefit, I get annoyed easily. Sometimes I even feel like they have no right to tell me what to do.

There is a saying that goes “you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family.” Family is supposed to be the closest bond, and though I don’t admit it to my parents, it hurts because our bond doesn’t seem to exist. I know nothing changes the fact that we’re a family, but I wish we weren’t so distant.

I’m really not a big fan of lychees, but I thought it was cool that its first syllable is the pronunciation (li-chee) of my last name. Besides, the last name ‘Li’ is way too common.

First off, I am not a morning person. And what am I doing? Taking morning classes. It doesn’t make sense, I know. I’ve been surviving on caffeine since junior high school. I have a tendency to stay up late, even when I’m not doing anything productive at all. It doesn’t seem to click in me to climb in bed until I’ve realized how much time I’ve wasted. On average weekdays, I get to bed around 3AM, and survive on only 2-3 hours of sleep. It’s been this way since… forever. I’m actually not sure how I’ve managed and how I’m still functioning.

I guess I can say that I’m pretty much nocturnal. I wouldn’t say I’m proud of it, but it has definitely shaped who I am. I love New York City mainly for one reason: it never sleeps! There’s always something to do, no matter what time it is, or how dark it is outside. Day or night, the city still shines. I guess that’s the main reason I decided to stay in the city for college. I really can’t imagine myself in the middle of nowhere, next to cows and trees.

I also love photography and graphic design. I carry my camera with me almost everywhere I go. Most of my pictures are either of friends or food, but I also explore photographing a little bit of everything. I think I have over 20,000 photos on my computer! I love pictures because of all the memories they bring back. Pictures are also widely used in the media, for almost anything you can think of. Media today has such a huge influence on our everyday lives, and I aspire to make my mark through my photography and designs.

What’s amazing is how pictures capture the beauty of our world that we often miss due to the busy nature of our lives.

So back to being here at Baruch…
One thing I’m most concerned with is getting to class on time. As most of you might have already noticed, I tend to walk in late a lot (and always with a coffee). I hate it the most when I could’ve been on time, and then the train makes me late. Another thing I dislike is all the readings we have for class, especially for history and politics. Frankly, I don’t see the significance of learning about the past when it has already happened. The biggest difference for me between high school and college is being handed more work and more freedom. Now I really have to start sharpening my time management skills.

I’m really not sure how college will change me yet, but whatever the change, it’ll be for the better!