Sitting, reading, and sleeping on Memorial Glade are considered as part of the quintessential Cal student's experience. I decided to do some reading one day and it's was quite comfortable.

Back to the loam, face to the sun,

Pondering all that is to be done

Propped-up legs supported by a violin case

All while reading literature older than the Bach sonata inside

Faces familiar and strange pass,

Speaking languages at home and in Madame’s class

The book conveniently blocks the sun’s gentle rays

From irritating a pair of dried-out eyes.

Reading tragedy of ancient Greece,

The body caressed by grass,

The mind by the verses of Sophocles

For you CS nerds out there: We were asked to explain the concept of recursion on a review problem and were permitted to do so in haiku.

Calling function on self

Optimize Runtime

Read from first line

With midterms coming up, lots of us are pulling late-night study sessions, which can be both infuriating and rewarding. But... who said they had to be boring?

Problem sets and past midterms in front,

Whiteboard to the side,

Tracing programs line by line

Confusion truly reigns supreme

Excitedly scrawling out functions on paper

Only to be disgusted when the output does not come

Parsing error after error, changing parameter after parameter

Giving "problem code" Trumpian overtures

With higher order functions generating higher orders of confusion

Repeating problems in the manner of recursion

Into the odd hours of pitch-black skies,

But pangs of hunger force a walk outside,

And a check mark on the bucket list: “Walk in Berkeley past midnight”

Trekking home with not a person on the street

Except early returners from parties

The quest for comprehension continues on the couch

Extended by the gentle warmth of herb tea and nostalgic stings of home-cooked chili paneer

Harmoniously humming to Bollywood and Bieber,

All while typing, debugging, and repeating.

Is this what college is?