Dear Matt,

I dont even know where to begin. As I heard the news this afternoon, all I could remember was being shocked. I thought, "No. There is NO way this true." I numbly made my way to class. As I was in class, the text messages and the facebook statuses finally got to me. It finally hit me that I would never see you again. The tears started flowing down and they wouldn't stop. I can't believe your'e gone.

I remember the first time I met you. It was the first day of classes at UGA and we both had Calculus II, remember? I sat right behind you and you turned around and introduced yourself to me and asked if I was korean. the funnier part was when I saw you later again that day at O-House Dining Hall and I was with Henry and Dahye. You realized that I was SDA too and then you proceeded to sing "It's a small world." I knew at that point, your comedic awkwardness would make us good friends. :)

You were a positive influence in every aspect of my life. I can honestly say I can not be in this position I am today if it wasn't for you.
For all the times you helped me out with my physics hw and explain mechanism and stategies in detail to me
For all the times you mentored me on what I should do to prepare for applying to dental schools
For all the times you made me laugh at your corny sense of humor
For all the times you talked to me about our future in dentistry and helped me see the bigger picture
For all the times you encouraged me to go to Bible studies and draw more closely to God.
Thank You.

I know you really can't hear right now but if you could I just want to tell you how amazing you are. You were perfect in every way. It upsets me that youre gone right now, but I know if anyone was right with God, it was you. Thank you for being such a positive influence in my life. Our memories together will never me forgotten.

Sleep tight! Next thing you know, well all be reunited with Jesus. I know you'll be there. I pray that through this wakeup call I'll be ready too.

Love,
Judyth

PS. these next 4 years are for you. i promise Ill do the best that I can to succeed in dental school.

Four Weeks Left: Time to Leave with a BANG

courtesy of marantzer on flickr

Isn't it crazy how I only have four weeks left til finals and then undergrad will forever be over? It's so scary. Every day I am reminded constantly through all sorts of different outlets such as emails, events, friends or faculty. I think it hit me the hardest last week when I saw that a friend of mine was attending an event on facebook called "Last 30 nights of college". Intrigued, I clicked on the event to see what it was all about.

The following is the description of the event:
"5 weeks of school until finals...
30 Nights of Athens until finals...
53 Bars in the central Downtown area...
Join us for the LAST 30 NIGHTS OF COLLEGE
We will be downtown every single night until finals, black-out or sober. Meet up with us or follow us as we Tweet, blog and Facebook the chronicle of the greatest days of undergrad."

I can't help but think this plan is genious. We only have four weeks left. Why not make the most of it? While I do not drink, I do like going out to get loose, hang out with friends, and make memories. It's a great way to meet new people and catch up with old ones without having to deal with school stresses. How nice is that? Because I want to leave Athens with a bang, I'm going to have fun finishing up this school year. Here's my to-do list before finals:

1. Trey Songz Concert -- free for students! =]
2. Botanical Gardens --- go one last time before budget cuts will close the place down *BOOOO*
3. Baseball game --- i gotta watch the one against tech!
4. Give Blood -- after reading an article about it, I think its time for me to stop being a scardy-cat.
5. Tate Movie Theatre --- i love watching movies for a dollar
6. Go to a music concert here in athens
7. take pictures with all UGA bulldogs scattered on campus --- roomies? letss dooo ittt <3
8. rockclimb @ ramsey -- i have a feeling im gonna fail miserably @ this.
9. kollaboration!

I honestly don't know how I'll fit all of this in four weeks. Well, more like three weeks. This upcoming week is gonna be part 1 of hell on earth (four tests next week, three of which will probably tear me up mercilessly).

My motto: "Study HARD, play HARD." After next week, I'm ready to finish undergrad off with a bang. I'm so stocked I cant wait. You guys are more than welcome to join me for the best last three weeks ever <3

Tufts vs. Loma Linda

my silly attempt to show off the cool tufts headgear i got during the interview

so the question that has been plaguing me this semester was: Tufts vs. LLU?

Those that have known me for a while know how much I have been wanting to go to Boston. I took a trip there with some of the church youth when i was in middle school. I fell in love when I went to Faneuil Hall Marketplace and saw all the historical buildings mixed in with the modern city life. The icing on the cake was seeing the HUGE A&F store in Faneuil Hall (oh how i judge my taste in clothes back then). I determined in my small 12 year old mind that I would do whatever it takes to get back to Boston, whether it be working or going to school there.

Obviously, I did not end up there for undergrad because of financial reasons. And honestly, that was probably the best decision I could have ever made. UGA has been a great experience for me. I met some life-long friends at UGA that I probably never would have had the opportunity to get to know if I went up north. This school has really shaped me up to be the person I am today, and for that I am TRULY grateful. But it is so scary thinking about what I am about to embark on for the next four years. Which brings me to this looming question: Tufts or Loma?

courtesy of tufts dental medicine website

Tufts

Pros:

1. Boston. look at the first paragraph. its obvious i LOVE BOSTON

2. HUGE college town: i love meeting diff types of people. YEAHHHH! =]

3. The facilities are AMAZING. MY GOSH i think i drooled a little when I saw it.

4. The staff, students, and former students cant rave enough about the place. im being dead serious.

5. TOTALLY new environment. Its an incredibly fresh page I can start on. new ppl, new setting.

6. 3 hrs to NYC! maybe during the SMALL amount of free time ill have, i can go and delve into my tiny artsy side. heh

Cons:

1. the weather. as i get older, i realize im not so fond of the cold anymore

2. it gets so dark there so quickly. what the heck? i need my light!

3. MONEYYYY. holy crap. just thinking about how much its gonna put me in debt makes me want to hurl

Loma Linda

Pros:

1. umm hello? CALI! 

2. EVERYTHING is within reach. beach, hollywood, vegas, snowboarding... the list goes on and on.

3. the weather. I want to be spoiled with NON-fluctuating weather. (yes im hinting at you GA; your weather SUCKS)

3. I have family here, and ill be going back to my hometown state <3

4. its nice going to a place where I already have amazing friends. <3 

5. I really like how they emphasize clinical work: totally approve!

6. its an SDA school. thumbs up! =]

Cons:

1. LLU is a small circle. sometimes i dont do well with everyone knowing everyone's business.

2. the facilities arent as great.

3. Ill have a comfort zone. I dont want to go into my comfort zone as soon as I get there, which ill be tempted with.

looking at this list, its pretty obvious ill be happy at each school. The cons arent life-changing or anything... its just things I have to be picky about to try to help my decision become easier. I've been praying about this a lot. Through prayer, I got this feeling that it was Tufts. My parents, who were GUNGHO about Medical College of Georgia due to costs, were thinking Tufts (one of the most expensive schools) would be a better school too. Talking to everyone else, they made it sound like Tufts was the way to go too. I think most people thought that Tufts was the obvious choice because I loved Boston, but honestly that was NOT the case.

The more Tufts became the answer, the more I wanted to go to Loma Linda. The more people thought it was obvious, the more I was adament that I thought Loma was the way to go. I know most Korean SDAs end up going to LLU; I hated that when I was younger and wanted to rebel. As my situation became more realistic and not "If I get into...", I realized that theres nothing wrong with that. I mean, theres a reason people have followed that cycle! Its because its actually good! Its great for networking and surrounding yourself with people that believe the same way you do (granted there are the ultra liberals to the ultra conservatives). It makes things so much more simpler. To be honest, if I had a choice I would spend two years at Tufts and the other two at Loma Linda. Wouldnt that be awesome? I'd like to think so.

But enough on me being indecisive. I finally decided on Tufts. By going to Tufts, I'm not saying that im living in Boston for the rest of my life. I know if I wanted to specialize or go into residency programs, I could make it my goal to go to Cali (which is the case as of this moment). I'll admit, this decision really puts me at ease. God is truly good to me, and I know I made the right decision. so heres to my next four years at Tufts! HELLLLLLOOOOOO BOOOSTTTON <3

ps. i didnt realize what a blabber i am. congrats if you read everything! heh

best weekend ever

Reasons why this weekend is gonna be awesome:

1. NY fashion week started. drooling with anticipation.
2. vancouver winter olympics starts today! I LOVE olympics but winter olympics >>> summer olympics. just saying.
3. first real snow in GA. EEEEP <3
4. Valentines day will be spent working. maybe not THAT exciting or noteworthy. but thinking of the money ill get makes me a bit happier. i have to support my love of clothes & shoes somehow.

its so gorgeous outside. i think im gonna go frolic in the snow. <3

happy MLK

since this is my last semester in athens (yes, i will mention this OVER and OVER... sorry in advance), i wanted to take full advantage of the downtown scene. for those of you who dont know, UGA is located in athens, GA. its a small college town with an amazing downtown area. its full of quirky stores, knick-knacks, AMAZING eateries, interesting people, and cool bars that i want to spend as much time as i possibly can here. so for MLK, i decided to spend my day off from school frolicking downtown.

i love this store, angora. the have the most FABULOUS vintage items. of course i would be broke when i come here. why must you do this to me?

Ive always wanted to try a-ok cafe ever since i noticed this tiny cafe. its located in the basement, literal hole-in-the-wall place. i got a grilled cheese, pasta salad & tomato soup all for less than 5 bucks! what a steal. my friend got two hotdogs, side & drink for 3.99. im DEFINITELY coming back here again soon. it was DELISH <3

afterwards, we took a couple of steps and arrived at the new froyo place in athens, yoguri. ill admit, im not the biggest fan of their original but i like their mango flavor. what a lovely finish to a yummy meal.

thank you martin luther king for this fun-filled day. <3

pinkberry

OMG.

courtesy of pinkberry
pinkberry is coming to atlanta. at least thats what it says on its website (yes i check out pinkberry's website).

it also showed me that pinkberry is coming to boston too! thank goodness. if it was not there, it would definitely put loma over tufts.... ahhh decisions decisions. you people that live near a pinkberry, consider yourself lucky.

some people might think it's ridiculous that pinkberry is a major factor on where i want to be for the next 4 years. maybe i do like pinkberry a little too much. who cares, it really completes me. *hug*

california dreamin

this past week has been hectic to say the least. im so glad its over with.

first off, the biggie. i went to cali for an interview. the interview went okay. i hope. ill have to pray & trust that God will opens doors for me, if its His will. all i can do for now is wait.

i do have to admit, it was only the week before last that i TRULY prepped for the interview. i was more excited about my mini-vacay to cali. boy was I in for a treat. yeah taking a little break from school was fun, but by NO means was it a vacation. By thursday morning after taking the redeye back to GA, i was spent. heres some things i learned about my small trip.

1. travel neck pillow is a MUST on flights. i wish i had bought one. never had a flight been more uncomfortable.... i must be getting old.
2. take a decongestant if youre sick before flying. unless you want excrusiating pain shooting up your ear when landing. just saying.

3. pinkberry is the ONLY place with delish original froyo. before this week, i forgot that i use to actually LIKE original froyo. everywhere else tastes like cheese. yuck

4. its so much fun going down memory lane. sometimes i wish i still lived in arcadia.
5. if you ever move to a new state, keep your former state lincense plate & card as long as you can. just in case you get pulled over. yes there is a story behind this lesson....

oh cali. how youve taught me so much in the 35 hours i was there. wat a crazy week. i loved it <3