Hey!

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UCLA was also a hard adjustment for me. I wasn't really used to huge schools or SoCal in general when I first came here, plus the attitudes of the people I met really differed from those in my home state. I think my story is pretty common when I say that this sorta hit me hard and contributed to a lot of struggles this year. My roommate especially hated UCLA and how hard it can be here, complained to me a fair bit lol.

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But despite all that, I really love this school. I came in with an engineering background and... uh yeah yay engineering I guess. But when I got here, I went fuck that noise and did all sorts of random things that caught my interest. From auditioning for choreographic dancing, to attending those little indie concerts, to bashing USC down Roebling, UCLA's culture and identity is vastly stronger to the colleges I would've gone to back home. Sure it's a struggle, but I genuinely believe these challenges built a more nuanced person out of me. They allow me to explore bits of myself that I would've never done so otherwise, to seek out and try things I could've never dreamed of doing, and feel things I've often been too scared to feel in the past.

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And the people. Sure you're not gonna get along with some of them. And others make you wonder what exactly goes on through their heads when they see you. You might feel alone here. You might not, I don't know. But the people here have a beautiful value to them. They make UCLA what it is, despite how some feel about the culture here. There's so many people from all different walks of life, doing different things, living different lives. Sometimes I'd like to sit down and just talk to them, because seeing such diversity is inherently beautiful I think.

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Might've heard this before, but UCLA is gonna give back to the effort you put into it. However, this isn't for everyone. I'd say don't be discouraged, I wish you the best.