a new day and age.

here it is, another year ended.

i’ll sit around and tell myself that this was a memorable year. not only from the things that i have done, but with the people i’ve done them with. from my college experience thus far, i’d say that the people i’m surrounded by have made each and every day enjoyable to say the least. as i have done before, i’d like to give you a quick rundown of the things that have made my sophomore year:

- being an officer. from what i was told before the year even started was that being on the board makes the year go by fast. it does, and it did. it brought for an experience that i’ve learned from and it’ll make for something that i can continue growing from as well.
- being a kuya. i can tell you right now, i love my adings. even though there’s barely any green in my wallet, i don’t mind spending it all on my adings when there’s the bare minimum in there. idealistically, it would have been better on my wallet to filter them out by having them participate in a knife fight, but i’m glad the way things turned out the way they did.
- being an ading. i’ll consider myelf to be one of the luckiest adings out there. not just from the woori jib or sushi rock meals, and not just because of occasional corona being passed back, but because i have kuyas and ates that  genuinely care about and look after me. i’m sad to say that 75% of them won’t be back for the new school year, but i’m glad they’ve made it through college. no need to say goodbye though, i know they’ll always be with me with everything i do.
- living in the dorms. sure it’s great living in an apartment, but there are still those things you’re able to do in the dorms, but not anywhere else. eating some pocket burgers? having your roommate rig and orange to hit you in the face? blasting “what’s new pussycat?” out the window? meatloaf? i’m not afraid to say that i already miss the dorm life. we were lucky to have it, regardless of smelling like isr when leaving the dining hall.
- going out. firehaus? high dive? clys? legends? they were all great nights, especially those that ended with a diner stack, and of those, the ones that ended with a free diner stack. hey, how often do you have someone whisper in your ear, “…..kill them?” what about crowding the bars with plaid? and how often do you see tito fall down a bunch of stairs? answer: not that often. as nice as it was staying and studying all the time, it was always a relief taking a break and going out with everyone.
- being involved. there’s no doubt about it. fact was superb, fashion show was fun, and formal was amazing. being on the fact staff let me experience fact from another point of view. not to mention emceeing fashion show with the other two best motherfucking emcees in the world. let’s not forget about how the renaissance was there. as for my formal? i enjoyed it thoroughly, even more so with the company of my formal date. 
- doing the small things. whether it be staying in to watch the lion king, playing nhl, cheering on the hawks, killing zombies, or sitting at the cube, i’ve had a blast doing them all. in the end, all you really need is each other and i’ve learned that from countless nights by just being in the presence of great friends who will watch your books when you have to poo, take the melody in singing the mentos theme song, and even grow a beard with you.
- living at 30. sorry to the past, present, and future 30 residents. when you sign on a lease to the apartment, you also sign on a lease to eric abasolo. since last year, i’ve bummed around that apartment at least every other day. haha. you can call it laziness to walk back home, but i’ll tell you that it’s because of the people that draw me there and the personalities and good times that make me wanna stay. thank you for the tea. thank you for the fruit by the foot and questionably moldy bread. thank you for being welcoming. i’m glad knowing that my futon imprint has survived another year.

i’ll look at all this stuff and think to myself: hey, you’re halfway there. i’ve been told to make the most of my time spent on campus, and honestly, i intend on doing so. with another year done, and a class of friends all graduated, i’m inspired to do so. expect a uiuc bucket list soon. i intend on going the distance with it.

for now, i wanna say thank you to everyone who has been a part of my sophomore year. i missed a lot of stuff, but oh wells. congratulations to the big ten class. i’ll be back on campus for second session @ 302, and i’m excited for apartment 301 for the rest of the year. thanks for reading.