To my surprise, there's actually a Japanese garden, roughly a mile north of UCLA. If it weren't for Jing Wen, I would never have known of the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden's existence until after I graduated...or even until a decade later. I seriously doubt the UCLA population has even heard of this place before, because it's nestled in an obscure corner of Bel Air. If I had to sum up the experience, I'd say it was simply divine. If the keepers of the garden allowed it, this would be my escape, my new place of contemplation, away from the troubles and distress of the world. Unfortunately, they only allow 1-hour visits to the garden, as parking is limited to three spaces; thus, prior reservations are required if you're driving yourself there. Maybe next time, I'll just walk there, and with my daily supply of green tea, I could just spend my day there and read Guns, Germs, and Steel. Haha, maybe it's not the most appropriate book to read in such a tranquil place, but I've been meaning to get on this book for THE longest time. But anyway, I'd highly recommend this peaceful place; it's a wonderful piece of Japanese art that you can experience here right near UCLA! It's little accidental discoveries like this that makes me grateful that I go to an awesome school like this. *_*

Yesterday when my brother called to give his birthday greeting, he sang me a parody of "Sixteen Going on Seventeen". Sure, it's adorable...to some extent, but at the same time, he was implying that I'm getting old. That rotten kid....I guess it's your little brother's responsibility to annoy the bajeezus out of you. *rolls eyes* Regardless, I have to admit that my 21st was one of the best birthdays I've ever had, because everyone planted a grin on my face. :D Multiple phone calls, countless FB posts, dozens of in-person greetings in lab/campus/random places, three cakes (!), surprise packages/presents, and being blindfolded to a memorable surprise at Cheesecake Factory (!!!) all made my day. Celebrating it with people who I care about was...priceless.

Most of you probably know that I value family more than anything, but if asked about another thing I cherish, it would be my friendship with people. Someone once told me that when everything around you becomes hopeless and despairing, one of the few things you can fall back on is the friendship that you share with those whom you love and care about...those who bring happiness to you with their presence. Time and time again, I've found that to be true, and this summer has been no exception. The celebrations, outings, and cooking extravaganzas at Pink Palace with my awesome roomies and friends have to be some of the most fun and memorable experiences I've had this entire summer. Whether it be contracting Harry Potter mania, making nonhydrogenated peanut butter Hershey kiss cookies, eating chocolate mint ice cream to ease agonizing heartaches, or being sorely disappointed at Melissa's victory on The Next Food Network Star, I think we all tried to make these experiences meaningful. Shuk's and my birthday were testaments to the power of friendship. Our friends managed to guilessly surprise us on our birthdays; for Shuk, might I mention that she was surprised not once, but TWICE?? I believe that friendship empowers us all; if we all have a vested and sincere interest, then most likely, things will turn out for the better, not for the worse. I can honestly say that without my friends being there for me, or vice versa, it would be very difficult to endure this quarter life crisis.

Reflecting back during this past year, I can honestly say that I have grown exorbitantly as a person. I'm no longer a girl, who is reliant on her parents for every single thing. [Not that I ever was so parasitic to begin with but just trying to drive the point home here...] I'm now a woman, who needs to be resilient, adaptive, strong, honest, responsible, appreciative, and trustworthy. I can't tolerate letting my family or friends down and act in cavalier ways to selfishly ruin my relationships with people. When a problem arises, I can't run away from it; that's childish. Funny how a year ago, I would have chosen the easy route out to avoid the stress, the drama, and everything in between, but I've learned that life is not all that simple. Aside from the black and white, there is so much gray in between, so many experiences waiting for you from which to learn and grow. I cannot imagine how I would have learned and survived my mistakes without the tough love from the teachers in my life whether they be my family, friends, classmates, coaches, professors, or hobos on the street. Sure, life spites us all the freakin' time, but really, it has too much in store for me to to fall down on my knees and not get back up again. If anything, I believe that I have grown to become a more independent person, learning that my path is dependent on my choices and whether I can make lemonade out of lemons in tough times.

A couple of you probably witnessed my making a very long birthday wish...twice (once Sunday and again Thursday). Even though I'm now legal enough to drink and gamble, I think I'll...pass on it for now. Hah, I can already hear the groans, but just because most people celebrate their twenty-first birthday by getting hung over the next morning and forgetting what the heck happened the previous day didn't mean I wished for the same thing. Rather, I wish to make the best out of what I have. One of my friends said it best in his recent blog: "...create the experiences that become memories." I'll try my best...for the rest of my life...and thank you to those who helped me do that on my birthday. I really want you to know that I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. :]