FRESHMAN JOURNAL
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College Offers Opportunity to "Make a Difference"

By Frederick Scarf, University of California-Berkeley

The summer before my freshman year of college started off with a bang.

I have a twin sister, who is also going off to college, and since we're venturing off at the same time, my parents wanted to celebrate with a family trip to China. So a week after graduating from high school, we traveled to Hong Kong and Beijing (and yes, I did get to see Bird's Nest from the Olympics).

I'll never forget the adventure of traveling to China: it took 31 hours. A typhoon hit China, which caused us to make an emergency landing in Taiwan. And I'll never forget is standing in Tiananmen Square; it was like walking into a painting.

After returning from China, my mission for the summer was to enjoy myself and relax. But then, the trek to college began.

Since the University of California-Berkeley, where I'll be spending the next four years, is pretty close to my hometown of Los Angeles, I drove up from Los Angeles with my parents. We got to the Bay Area a day early and stayed in San Francisco. I'll never forget having dinner in Union Square and spending the night joking with my parents. We couldn't stop laughing at all my strange childhood habits, like my obsession with the American flag and my love for trains.

We drove to Berkeley the next morning. I wasn't really nervous or excited, just content. After 15 minutes of unpacking, I was already settled and ready to meet people.

Since my dorm is about 20 minutes away from the social scene at Berkeley, I considered joining a fraternity. Joining a fraternity seemed like a good way to meet people and stay in loop, but my first fraternity party changed my mind. It just wasn't for me. The party was crowded and lively, but I think it would get old fast. So instead I want to start an on-campus chapter of a foundation I started in honor of my friend Shiri, who passed away at age 16 after a long battle with bone cancer. The chapter would raise money to fund cancer research and would organize proms for teens, who may not live long enough to attend their own proms.

I really want to make a difference and college seems like the perfect place to do just that.