University of California Los Angeles - Bruin Life / Southern Campus Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

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Picture Yourself 353

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Picture Ol Yourself

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Undergraduates Undergraduate is defined by the Merriam-Webster dic- tionary as a student at a university or college who has not taken a first degree. But literal definitions usually don ' t come close to describing what a word really means. Our undergrad years was the wonderful time in limbo that we spent after high school and before thinking about tackling life in the real world. For four or five years, you worked on becoming familiar with UCLA and yourself, and deciding what you wanted to be when you grow up. Being an undergrad meant trying to find the happy medium between being Mom and Dad ' s little one and the responsible student who made it through the quarter without running out of underwear at least once. With one of the most diverse student bodies in the nation, undergrads at UCLA had the op- portunity t o learn about others of all ethnicities, all financial levels, and all walks of life. But most of all, undergrad years were the time to learn about subjects you had never explored before. You could take classes of Renaissance art or the vascular system of plants. You could learn more about your ethnic heritage, or your religion. Or you could just worry about how much money you would someday make. And all the while, you discovered a little more about what lay inside you. We have all been there. Fresh- man year often consisted of life in the dorms, discovering West- wood, and attending your first NCAA Division I game. You started to get the feel of college life as you enjoyed no longer being marked tardy, staying up late and ordering food with your buddies, and learning how to hate that school across town with the company of 10,000 other Bruins in the Rose Bowl. Sophomore year came sooner than you expected, and the uni- versity seemed a little smaller: you knew where WG Young 2250 or Dickson 1209B were by heart. Maybe you rushed a house or joined a club. Gone were the days of isolated existence as you joined social groups, ethnic groups, or associations of com- mon interests. Slowly, your mind opened up and took notice of issues and controversies that af- fected you on all levels. You heard the opinions of opposing sides while fighting for issues which you might never have given a second glance had you not attended this university. Then came your junior year, and you realized that yes, I ' ve finally found a major! Some of your friends you made at UCLA were no longer around: some graduated, others transferred, while still others dropped out. You walked around campus with confidence as you found your niche at UCLA and accumulated at least five articles of Bearwear. You started thinking about intern- ships, and finding some job expe- rience instead of slinging pizzas at the Coop. You got a little smarter, and figured out some possible ways of fenagling a parking permit from Campus Parking Service so that you could drive to class, instead of walking or driving that beaten up scooter or bike. You learned just what political leaning you had and started to despise that school across town no matter where you were. Just a little while longer, and you could look ahead to. ..graduation. As we slowly grew up and grew away from our pre-con- ceived notions, we learned more about ourselves and the world. We realized that despite our indi- vidual differences there can be unity and mutual respect for each other. As students and leaders of tomorrow, our time as under- graduates could be both valuable and rewarding if we were willing to look at things with A Different Perspective. 354 Undergraduates