By Hila Assifi ’12
It’s really astonishing to think I started attending UCI back in 2009. How long ago that was! I was such a different person back then. I was so unaware of my own person and completely stunned by the culture shock of being away from home.
I remember sitting in my dorm listening to Michael Buble’s song “Home,” pathetically moping around because I didn’t have any friends. What cracks me up to this day is that I was only about an hour and a half away from my family in Simi Valley, and I managed to make lifelong friends relatively quickly.
Patience, focus and motivation helped me through it all. My years at UCI made me grow up and realize who I was. Every class and every person I met shaped who I am today. I can’t be thankful enough.
The year I graduated easily became the most bittersweet time of my life. When I moved back home after graduation, I remember playing Michael Buble’s “Home” once more – only this time, I was yearning to be back in my little room in Vista del Campo with my family of friends at UCI.
*Image provided by Hila Assifi.