This post was updated July 7 at 5:26 p.m. Like battleworthy armor, my headphones streaming Taylor Swift’s latest drop shield me from the usual campus chaos. Read more...

Photo: (Kelly Gee/Daily Bruin)

“What do you mean you don’t know who Maria De Filippi is?” After living my whole life in Portland, Oregon, at 15 years old, I moved to Italy – a place that many would call a paradisiacal destination – with my family due to my parents’ divorce. Read more...

Photo: Manarola, a small town in the Italian Riviera, is pictured at sunset. (Courtesy of Chiara Grasso)

I slammed the car door shut. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I aggressively threw my piano books everywhere. “I don’t want to do piano anymore,” I cried to my mom. Read more...

Photo: Hayley Labia sits at a piano and smiles for a portrait. (Nicolas Greamo/Daily Bruin senior staff)

Noise is a part of everyday life. Urban noise is a different animal for the uninitiated. My first time traveling to San Francisco as a child was overwhelming, to say the least. Read more...

Photo: (Elaine Guan/Daily Bruin)

“I love you” is a phrase my family rarely exchanged. We often navigated our emotions in silence, even in the most daunting of times. Then, one day, three words pierced through the silent affection my family subscribed to: “You have cancer.” Suddenly, the quietness I was once used to transformed into a cloud of fear and uncertainty. Read more...

Photo: Amelia Zai is pictured sitting on a hospital chair at 11 years old. (Courtesy of Amelia Zai)