This weekend was Admitted Students Day and in between answering prospective students’ questions and bragging about Scripps, I realized that I have finally come to love Scripps and feel settled here. It took about a semester to fully settle into life here at Scripps and then another half semester to really love Scripps.

Along with my close friends, it is also my acquaintances who have helped me adjust to life at Scripps. I appreciate that at Scripps, the first-years are not separated from the upperclass students. When I got to Scripps I was assigned three official mentors; my Asian American Sponsor Group, my Core Mentor, and my Peer Mentor. To add to the list, I also met other upperclass students like my RAs and people in my dance class. At the beginning of the year, they seemed much older to me, but gradually, we have just become friends. At a big state school, I suspect that there is much more of a class year hierarchy, but here at Scripps, the older students want to be my friend. They’re always willing to explain a tricky essay prompt or just have lunch. I am going to miss being a first-year and knowing that there are three years ahead of me who can give me advice.

With graduation coming up, it’s also started to sink in that this is a place people cycle in and out of in four years. Since none of us first-years have seen the graduation ceremony, it’s easy to forget that there is something “Beyond the Elms.” Some weeks, I don’t leave the one mile block of the Claremont Colleges, and when I see someone who’s not between the ages of 18-24 or a professor, I’m surprised.  When I was a high school freshman, four years was such a long time, but entering college, four years seems so short. It’s taken me almost a year to settle into Scripps, and now I only have three more years here. Before I know it, I’ll be on the brink of graduation bracing myself for another one of life’s transitions. I’m going to miss all of the seniors and the support they have given me during this year of adjustment, and I wish all of them luck as they start another stage of life.