University is a Collection of Musicals

Because of you, I have been changed for good 🎵

There’s another milestone tomorrow where all the graduating engineering students come together and celebrate. Each milestone brings us closer to the finale and brings me closer to all sorts of tears.

I’ve suddenly been struck with a wave of “lasts.” One final capstone meeting, one final party, one more week. Although I’m not graduating just yet and I have four more months to hold on, it still feels like an era is ending. I know that this is a phase of life that will likely never reprise itself.

There’s a lot of uncertainty moving forward and away and etcetera with all words that signify change. But there’s also a huge feeling of openness knowing that the whole world is out there and ready to embrace whatever path we embark on next.

In the spirit of nostalgia and in honour of the past 5 years of a wonderful undergraduate degree, here’s a musical reflection of what I’ve learned, what I’m grateful for, and why I’m excited for the next phase of life.

And today we’ll know, who we’ll make the journey with and where we’ll go.

I find this musical more comical than anything. The excitement and eyes of wonder the characters have in this song remind me a lot of when I was choosing my university. Looking back now, there were a lot of things I left up to chance from the brand new city I chose to the familiarity I had left behind.

Two By Two — from Book of Mormon
(Remember seeing this show in Vancouver with your first year friends?)

One of my first visits to Grouse Mountain, one of my first BC hikes, and my favourite block party.

I’m passionately mashin’ every expectation…

It’s time to take a shot.

Personally, I came into university with enough confidence to make an impression and enough determination to try and weave myself into the community. The first day was filled with students who had been in my shoes convincing me to join their club, ‘make the most of my time,’ and plenty of excitement. At 18, I remember being full of branches of dreams. At 23, all I see is that I’m at the roots of even more.

My Shot — from Hamilton

One of the earlier end-of-year bonfires, one of the first visits to the Property, that hike (almost) to the Lions

I got the whole wide world in the palm of my hand.

A day with sunshine. A memorable lecture. An inspiring coffee chat. A date. A good day. There are those days where you can’t stop smiling because of how you believe that the world believes in you. There are those days when your brain feels energized for productivity, creativity, or even simply positivity. Remember that concert or Storm the Wall event or friendship brunch? Or even that scholarship or contest you deserved to win?

Life’s a Happy Song — from The Muppets

First visit to Bowen Island, first BC glacier sighting at Elfin Lakes, Lighthouse Park and its rising tides

I can’t pay the bills yet cause I have no skills yet… Somehow I can’t shake, the feeling I might make a difference to the human race!

The thing about mood is that it’s always an interesting byproduct of what’s currently happening to us. University is that time where we flip flop between wanting to be adults and wanting to be taken care of. It’s a constant cycle of feeling like you’re succeeding, then feeling like you don’t have enough experience, and back around again. Each term is like a rollercoaster that you’ve read the schematics for beforehand but can’t quite remember where the drops are once you’re on it. I wouldn’t quite describe university as despair but rather I’d describe it as unpredictable.

What Do You Do with a B.A. in English — from Avenue Q
(Remember buying this ticket last minute in Times Square?)

First trip to Cannon Beach, fully gift-wrapping a room (then advertising it), Second trip to Cannon Beach shortly after and a sunset in Astoria

I’ve got to be where my spirit can run free.

Before every school term, I asked myself what I wanted to be involved with to meet those dreams and goals I fathomed once before. First year was an interesting mix of finding things I felt comfortable with only to find I didn’t quite fit in with the crews I had chosen. Second year was where I found one of my favourite groups of people and checked off a goal I had from high school. Third year was where I felt like I belonged and dove into my commitments completely. Fourth year was the year of branching out once more to the parts of campus that I always wanted to be a part of. I felt a final push of energy to make sure I had explored as much as possible and met as many people as I could. The extra commitments I took on defined who I was and ultimately made me feel like I belonged amongst the chaos.

Corner of the Sky — from Pippin

First of two Passenger concerts, one of the events I ran with Geering Up, that time I got the #ChooChoo150 VIA rail pass

What a waste of a lovely night.

I think a lot about the little moments. I think about how the stars aligned for circumstance and coincidence. I think about how it may not have been luck but it was definitely a stroke of chance for the right place, right time, right people. In first year, I walked into my physics classes with the intention of sitting next to someone new every time. At our yearly bonfires, we always had a story to tell about the tide rising up and chasing us back up the stairs. We can’t forget the countless nights we stayed up chatting past our non-existent bed times. And when I quote this song, I actually mean that even the so-called wasted nights are still lovely in my mind.

A Lovely Night — from La La Land

Nuit Blanche in Toronto, heading home after Universal Studios Japan, Clockenflap in Hong Kong

Let us be seventeen, if we still got the right.

It’s a chase for innocence. It’s a longing for nights of freedom. It’s an ask to enjoy the time we have. We’ve done a lot over the years and don’t always take the time to register the moments we’re in. The stories I tend to tell are the ones that sound ridiculous to those who weren’t there. That includes the story with the Car2Go sign and the one about donuts. Oh, and that time with the blue light or under the fairy lights. And of course, the random encounters on campus and walks to Granville Island. There are a lot of things that will change when our lifestyles shift from school to work, from relative routine to 9-to-5s, from young adult to full-time adult. But I hope the making of stories doesn’t have to change.

Seventeen — from Heathers
(Shoutout to that musical episode in Riverdale and the countless TV shows I’ve watched over the years with my roommates.)

Stanley in Hong Kong, painting and letting go lanterns in Taiwan, conference in snowy Ottawa

Nothing’s gone forever, only out of place…

Maybe all you’re missing lives inside of you.

This is for the friendships faded over the years, the meetups that were canceled then never occurred, the trinkets and cards collected over the years. This is to remember the photos we took but never looked back on, the enjoyable events that weren’t able to find a spot in your long-term memory, the promises that disappeared. Even if you can’t pinpoint what you’ve lost over the years or rather what’s faded, they’re still part of you.

The Place Where Lost Things Go — from Mary Poppin Returns

Adventures with Engiwhat, adventures with Engiwhat ft. Merike to the Sunshine Coast, my favourite spot to watch the sunset in Vancouver

Suddenly I’m not too young or too short… suddenly there’s nothing in between me and the sky.

The past 5 years hasn’t only been filled with school. It has been complete with travels and work and adventures and experiences I can’t possibly fully recount. It has flown by and looking back makes the present feel so much more satisfying. Recounting the titles I’ve held and the events I’ve made, it’s a fascinating feeling to feel like you’ve progressed into something. It makes the future feel even more limitless than it already is.

Me And the Sky — from Come From Away
(Shoutout to hometown friends for introducing me to this one)

That reading week trip to San Francisco, the cherry blossoms on campus in the spring, another end-of-year bonfire with s’mores

The morning is breaking (they’ll tell the story of tonight)

For me, the feeling that this mashup prompts is a feeling of knowing that things get better. It’s a sincere feeling of hope. It’s a feeling that reminds me that I’m never alone and that in time, there is positivity. This is a tribute to the midterms and assignments that got away then the moments after where we picked up the pieces in the morning and kept going.

Found/Tonight — from Dear Evan Hansen and Hamilton

Abbotsford Tulip Festival before flying home and away for the summer, that 24 hours adventure to Seattle for Dodie, the Stanley Park view with the parents

Because I knew you, I have been changed for good.

Let’s raise our tanks of Long Island Iced Tea and cheers to all that this university experience had to offer. Here’s a toast to the friends I loved and familiar faces I encountered from the first day I walked into my faculty’s buildings to the day I’ll raise my graduation cap to the mountains in the backdrop. And a thank you to the professors and academics that taught me the material I needed, the material I loathed, and the material that shaped my dreams. And a nod to the university spaces where I napped, shared laughs, held many meetings, and most of all, stared at my laptop screen.

For Good — from Wicked
(Remember seeing this show in NYC with hometown friends?)

That’s it. 👋

Cheers, University of British Columbia — you were so good to me.

Remember a year in the life of friends; measure your life in love. — Seasons of Love, RENT