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Ever since my return from Vietnam, I've had this growing obsession with traveling. My reality, nowadays, is more like a kaleidoscope I use to see the possibilities of the world, a life that I almost let pass me by. Another second would have been as costly as a bullet to the heart.
I went through a cold withdrawal in November because I wished I had stayed longer in Haiphong; instead of hopping onto a plane back to a city that runs on a schedule and spending unwanted time hoping for something better later on. Los Angeles has been my home for as long as I can remember. I had a lot of downtime to explore L.A. and I became more infatuated with the random places that people don't know about, the cultural landmarks that we should know about and the social relevance of ethno-enclaves that we take for granted. In the last few months, I've explored Hollywood, Long Beach, Cerritos, Westminster, Costa Mesa, Diamond Bar, Burbank, Pasadena, San Gabriel Valley, San Pedro, and Santa Monica.
The best part about the desire to travel the world is that you can find the world within your desires. This is the reason behind my return to UCLA. In the month of April alone, I must have been exposed to 20 different cultures, a dozen of social justice issues, 10 student-organized events and 4 cultural shows. I've engaged in conversation with friends who are african-american, nigerian-american, pilipino-american, indian, hispanic, latino, irish-french-american, korean-american, japanese-american, hmong american, vietnamese-american, chinese-american, and the list goes on. This is what diversity feels like. This is what the college experience is supposed to be like. Your mind travels as far you allow it to go.
I owe Professor Van Leuven for this social lens or this kaleidoscope that I keep referring to; one of the life tools she so diligently prepares for all her students. I now spend Mondays and Wednesdays auditing her class on the sociology of deviant behavior. Tuesday and Wednesday evenings belong to my public relations courses. I'm still working on my art for the bigger picture.
As for the rest of this year, I am racing the clock to return to Vietnam. You can call me a globetrotter in training.
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| | Posted 4/28/2007 11:12 PM - 15 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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