White flurries scattered through the sky, sitting on my coat before melting to water. The red brick sidewalks, tree branches, and grass were dusted with a thin coat of snow. It was cold; I had my arms wrapped around myself, walking a little faster to make it back to my dorm. This was the trip back from my last college lecture of the semester, and therefore the last college lecture of 2025 – biochemistry.
This semester, I’ve found myself counting down a lot. Counting down the number of ProbStats homeworks I needed to submit, the number of volunteer shifts at the senior center, and the number of lectures left. I was working toward the end, counting down to it, looking forward to it even – but in that moment, I couldn’t help but replay the moments from that semester, watching them blur into focus.
The moments that first surfaced weren’t the ones where my heart beat a little faster as I opened Gradescope to see an exam score, or where I participated in a research event. Rather, the memories that began to flood my mind were the deep, spontaneous conversations embedded within study sessions, or the time I took a stroll around campus with one of my closest friends, singing to old Bollywood songs as we chatted about school, life and everything in between.
There was also the sense of anticipation as I stood in front of the plate reader in the lab, holding my breath while waiting for the numbers from the luciferase assay to pop up right in front of me – realizing that whether the data was promising or not, I was viewing something novel. Then there was talking to fellow lab members and grad students about future career paths, learning about the diverse journeys that research can take us on.
Holding on to the Mundane
Something I started doing this semester was journaling. Of course, I write a lot – hence the blog and LinkedIn posting – but I would only write about something that I deemed to be important. The walk back from class from my friends? The joke a professor made? These were all routine parts of my day. I thought that only the “bigger things” were worth writing about, such as the extracurriculars I was involved in and what I learned from them.
Over the summer, in the midst of doing my best to continue learning and filling in the time that homework assignments ate up during the school year, I paused to think: What did it mean to do more “big things”? Was it writing more blog posts? Reading more articles? Joining more student organizations on campus? Even if I had done more, it wouldn’t have been enough; a lingering voice would still be at the back of my head, whispering, “There’s always more you could do, right?”
Being productive brings a fleeting sense of accomplishment, but doing something all the time isn’t sustainable and doesn’t lead to contentment in the long term. True productivity stems from working with intention and purpose, and letting that be fueled by inspiration from the world around us – inspiration that often comes from where I least expect it. I needed to give myself something that helped me remember that I was doing my best each day and to cherish the moments that made life meaningful.
On the first day of August, I started a document in the Notes App on my phone – The Daily Chai – to help me reflect on the day and hold on to the good parts, mirroring the thoughts that would come to mind if I were to hypothetically sip a cup of tea. This whole idea did become the premise for the column I now write for in my university’s newspaper, which can be viewed here.
I felt many parts of freshman year pass by in a blur, so, my main goal this semester was to not forget and to make every day count instead of counting each one down. Perhaps the best way to ponder on this semester is to dwell on the mundane. Hence, what follows are some reflections on a random sampling of lines from The Daily Chai this semester. If I didn’t write them down, I may have forgotten that these small but significant moments happened.
8/26: First Introduction to Fiction & Poetry II Class of the Semester
“Something that made me think: I need to lock in, but also maintain balance. ‘Life moves by fast. You’re going to miss it if you don’t look around once in a while.’”
We watched an excerpt from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off to analyze the unique voices of different characters – that’s where the quote originates from. I realized that it’s easy to fall into the trap of constantly trying to prepare for the next challenge coming my way – whether it’s an assignment, project, figuring out classes for the semester, or the like. Yet this comes at the expense of enjoying the present moment: the soothing breeze outside, the satisfaction that comes from grinding out homework problems and feeling concepts click together, or that unexpected Friday night side quest.
9/05: First Organic Chemistry Lab
“believe in yourself a little more; the clamp was just fine”
I was a little nervous for the first organic chemistry lab of the semester, mainly because I wasn’t sure if I would be able to isolate the final product, salicylic acid (the precursor to aspirin). For some reason, the salicylic acid did not precipitate out of solution, so I did not get any product 🙁
However, even during the process, I felt incredibly unsure of each step, despite reading the instruction manual a few times and rewatching the experiment video. I wasn’t sure if the clamp was tight enough, or if the stir setting was at the right speed. These doubts stemmed from the uncertainty of the outcome, something I don’t have full control over. In subsequent organic chemistry labs, I learned to focus on the process, taking it one step at a time.
9/24: Volunteering at the Senior Center
“Something good: [Volunteering], getting to know the people there… it’s the relationships that define us [and] incorporating lessons from others into our own story”
One of my favorite memories from this semester was volunteering a few hours every week at the senior center by campus, where I would help with programs such as art class and spend time with residents. I began to realize that the conversations we have are what make life more interesting. The people I’ve talked to at the senior center – nurses, program coordinators, and residents – have had such refreshing perspectives on what it means to lead a fulfilling life.
Once, a nurse looked me in the eye and said that when it comes to love, “we should never settle” for anyone but the one who makes us truly happy (I certainly didn’t expect to receive relationship advice during my volunteer shift)! As I thought about it more, I’m realizing that this mentality applies to almost any aspect of life, such as friendship and deciding on a career.
10/13: On Procrastination
“Something I wonder: I don’t want to look back and say, ‘Wow I wish I pursued this thing. Where did all the time go’ (re: procrastination, from Colby’s LinkedIn post)”
While mindlessly scrolling through LinkedIn one day, I came across a post on procrastination written by Colby Kultgen, a creator I follow. I wrote this in my Notes App to motivate me, in the hopes that I would see it when procrastinating on a task.
11/05: Linear Signals & Systems
“Something good: Talking to [my friend] and working through LinSig, even though I got quite a few things wrong. The more time I spend with something, the more I’ll understand it.”
Going into Linear Signals & Systems, I had heard from upperclassman biomedical engineering friends that it was one of the easiest classes they’ve taken. It didn’t feel easy; in fact, I had to watch a few videos and read articles to wrap my head around the concepts, and that was before starting the homework assignment. Of course, once I had a visual intuition for what was going on, problems clicked faster. Yet, I couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed for spending so long on a subject that seemed to take my classmates only a few minutes to grasp.
But as I worked through the homework with a friend via FaceTime, comparing answers and rewriting solutions, I felt myself enjoying that time. Studying wasn’t just a bearable chore that had to be fulfilled; it was an experience that could be savored.
While I scroll through The Daily Chai and gloss over the entries, it’s almost as if I’m reliving the semester again: whether it was the stressful, jam-packed weeks, the anticipation preceding an exam or the late night phone conversations. Yet, turning the page to the next semester, there’s also a sense of excitement that rises within me, knowing that beauty sprouts from the mundane; I just have to find it.
Previous Semester Reflections: Fall 2024, Spring 2025
