Summer definitely stormed its way through and will soon be over. I gotta say, even though I didn’t do a lot of academic related work, I definitely learned a lot and gained experience. On life.

If anything, the one thing I want to emphasize for you all is the importance of security. For some of you at UC Berkeley who have gotten their bikes stolen, you get me. It doesn’t matter if your school or house has a B+ or A rating in security on those college websites. So many students take their stuff and safety for granted. Okay, maybe I’m paranoid. I happened to NOT be one of those students that cannot afford to replace everything. No bling. When it comes to your safety, BE PARANOID.

So for many summers, I was thinking of installing bars on my windows at home. I mean, I live in Oakland, seems like a good idea, right? Except I get talked into not getting them by my neighbor. “Oh no, honey, that’s a bad idea. The Homeowner’s Association will get angry. (I already checked. What non-existent organization do you speak of?)”  But you know, to humor her, I didn’t install them.

And like life does, it throws a fast one: my house gets robbed. I said I’ll install bars now. And the neighbor repeats the same line. Well, ma’am, my house got robbed, not yours. My laptop with my information was stolen. My grandfather’s watches, irreplaceable for sentimental reasons. I was furious. I installed the bars. Hah, take that non-existent organization.

What I mean to say is that you should take your safety seriously. Contrary to popular belief, bling does NOT fall off trees. And it’s not just your STUFF you should worry about. Bad things can happen to you. Example? Nephew’s father held at gunpoint in his own house. I mean it when I say be attentive of your surroundings. If some strange person walks around your block for the past 30 minutes and has a phone to his ear but is silent, you watch them. WATCH THEM! The guy who stole my stuff walked out the window with my stuff in a backpack. I ain’t ever seeing my PS3 or Final Fantasy 13-2 again.

Do you have ANY idea how torturous it is to look at your EMPTY game case?

Aaand this ended up becoming a rant.