When I first stepped onto the USC campus, I wasn’t excited, I wasn’t optimistic, I was scared. I worried about how I was going to make friends in this big campus full of people I didn’t know. I worried how I would survive without my childhood friends that had been by my side since I was five years old. I was nervous about living on my own and leaving my comfort zone and the town where I had built my identity.
In hindsight, all these fears were unfounded because I soon found out that USC is a family. I don’t know if it is our incredible support from our alumni, our mutual dislike for UCLA, our undying support our football team, or in a common suffering in our academic studies, but there is an undeniable bond that unites us all together as USC students. No matter what club or organization you belong to, you are apart of something bigger here at USC, it’s just something in the air.
We arrived in Anchorage around 2:00 AM, exchanging soft California sun for a biting cold. With the airport deserted and snow piled up outside of the clear glass doors of the warm airport sanctuary, we decided to spend the first night of our spring break sleeping at baggage claim. We would have 7 more days to camp and journey into the Artic and blistering cold of northern Alaska, so we would enjoy warmth while we still could.
Curled up in our sleeping bags constant noise blared through loudspeakers “PLEASE DON’T LEAVE BAGGAGE UNATTENDED.” Around 5am, and after a few restless hours of sleep Daniel suggested we start on the road. The Hertz rent-a-car was just opening up as a sleepy attendant dressed in the signature yellow and black vest wiped sleep from his eyes.
Chinese New Year, arguably the most important event in the Chinese calendar, is a momentous occasion in Chinese culture. As an American-born Chinese (ABC), I have celebrated this tradition for as long as I can remember. We feasted on steamed fish garnished with green onions and ginger slices, and New Year’s cake: a steamed, chewy sweet made from glutinous rice flour, slab sugar, and water. At night, my parents would leave the lights in our house on. Perhaps a long time ago, superstitions dictated that the house should be lit to guide the gods of good luck and prosperity, but now the tradition persists as the lore has faded away. For me, celebrating Chinese New Year has always been about eating together with my family. Receiving red packets with crisp dollar bills inside is an added perk, but after leaving home and moving to USC, I miss the familiar foods we used to celebrate the new year.
