Being in college now.

Hey all,

so move-in has been quite the experience of transition! Living away from the sweet parents.. being surrounded by tons of peers.. loving all of my wonderful roommates.. having to do laundry, dishes, and cooking all on my own time.. doing my best to stay healthy as a vegan.. it's all been quite the fun! I feel like an adult now. Like suddenly I have budded because I share an apartment with some gals in La Jolla and part of something really awesome called Warren College. Isn't it funny how age hits you once you are finally able to accept the responsibilities for your age group?

So I ate in the Canyon Vista Restaurant for my first time today. I read somewhere that Warren has the most extensive salad bar in all of UCSD, and I was expecting something a little more epic when I got there, but I do have to say I was very pleased by their provision. I am a fan of lettuce, mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumbers, brocolli, and tofu in my salad. I've gotta get those three servings of protein some how. Other than the salad, tofu, and fruit, there wasn't much to satisfy my vegan diet. It's too bad I would go hungry at the CV dinery, but to be very honest, I am glad it is that way, and I am glad for my choice to be a vegan every day of my life. Sometimes it gets really hard (like when I was in Ensenada, Mexico with very limited food, or at camp in Green Valley for a week, or on a cruise for 10 days, or traveling to New York then Israel for THREE WEEKS), but I have pulled out so much stronger from each time I push myself to walk that line. But for all the other vegans out there, it is my goal to get more vegan options available around campus because I think we are going to get larger in number as time goes on. I haven't found my "vegan niche" yet at UCSD, but I hear there are a gathering of vegans under some trees near Muir. I'm gonna have to check that out.

But that is what college is all about isn't it? Finding our niche. Whether it be in academics, in culture, in diet, in lifestyle, in dress, in faith. College is about finding that niche that is more or less "for you." The problem is never if something exists, the problem is seeking that which is real. And it is such a problem because it is self-motivated. So here we are! And here we must be either on our own or holding the hand of G-d as we venture on this journey of self-discovery and finding that place cut out just for us. So lets gird up our loins, friends, there's something out there in this beautiful world for us!

-Jessica