The words 'The Stanford Daily' in Canterbury font

The four-year plan: Stanford bucket list edition

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The Stanford frosh starter pack includes changing your Instagram bio to “Stanford ’25”, buying expensive merchandise on the Stanford bookstore website, posting a college engagement post with a quirky Stanford title, abusing the emoji of the tree and, most importantly, planning courses wants to take over the next four years. Stanford frosh is known to obsess over his four-year plan.

Although I don’t plan on doing my four-year academic plan anytime soon, I’ve been thinking about what I want to experience and explore before my trip to Stanford ends in four short years.

In the style of the typical four-year plan, here is my college wish list:

First year:

  1. Attend my first college football game (and you’ll be confused all the time): In September, I attended the home game against UCLA and watched as Stanford was epically crushed by UCLA.
  2. Stanford Plate Walk: I have walked the plate several times; I definitely recommend going when it is closer to sunset so you can enjoy the sunset and the good weather.
  3. Go out to the fountain with your friends: I jumped in the fountain with my friends during NSO; It was so surreal to be in the sources that I had only seen on YouTube videos. I was surprised that the students used the fountains more than the pool at Farillaga. I also learned that most sources are chlorinated.
  4. Post my first story with The Stanford Daily: I have dreamed of writing for The Daily for my experience at Stanford University, so the circle is closed when I publish this article as my first!
  5. Head to San Francisco with the bedroom to experience Scav Hunt: Scav Hunt is a must have for all frosh; I highly recommend attending all frosh entrees.
  6. Take my first computer science (CS) class in college to feel the excitement of Silicon Valley: I am finishing my first class at Stanford and it radiates Google, Apple and Facebook. Everyone around me already lives and breathes CS.
  7. See my admissions file: I saw my admissions file in September and he was brutally honest. They reduced me to a few sheets of paper, which set off my imposter syndrome.
  8. Crash my bike in the Circle of Death: Current accident count? Two.
  9. Complaint about the Arrillaga dining room food: Arrillaga is growing a bit on me so this may never get marked.
  10. Read my letter to my roommate from the Stanford application: I think my roommate and I are putting this off because the letter is embarrassing to read. I hope my letter never appears beyond my Google Docs.

Second year:

  1. Own at least 10 pieces of Stanford merchandise: Stanford is always handing out free merchandise at different events; I have put together a fisherman’s hat, five different t-shirts, and lots of stickers.
  2. Fill out the Marriage Pact form (and maybe meet my soulmate): Maybe find my Peter Kavinsky?
  3. Visit the O’Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm: My family loves gardening and growing fruits. I’m looking forward to visiting the farm to reconnect with my roots at home while enjoying some organic food.
  4. Ride Marguerite (and learn to pronounce her name correctly): I’ve been pronouncing it like margarine so hopefully assembling it clears up the confusion.
  5. Take an entrepreneurship class to get sucked into Stanford’s startup culture: I grew up hearing about the famous Stanford dropouts, so I’m curious to explore what the business side of Stanford does to students.

Junior year:

  1. Attend the Big Game against Berkeley: Fingers crossed for Stanford to win this time?
  2. Dance in the Viennese dance: My Stanford interviewer encouraged me to attend the Vienna Ball; it’s definitely on the top of my wish list.
  3. Sneaking into the steam tunnels with friends: I’ve heard of underground tunnels, but I’ll have to figure out how to get to them. I know spiders and dust will give you an extra layer of fun.
  4. Explore all the libraries on campus: The campus libraries are beautiful; I can’t wait to discover new places to study.
  5. Learn all the Stanford lingo: CoHo, MemChu, DAHA, GovCo, FroSoCo, TAP; the list goes on.

Last year:

  1. Spend the entire night at the Jen-Hsun Huang Engineering Center: Senior year is when math class will have fewer numbers and more fun symbols. Spending all night in Huang sounds good.
  2. Finally enter Social Dance in Axess: By the senior year, you should know the ins and outs of SimpleEnroll and hopefully be able to experience one of Stanford’s most popular classes.
  3. Drive down Palm Drive and admire the beautiful entrance: I’d like to drive down Palm Drive and admire the view of MemChu and the Hoover Tower from a distance.
  4. Meet someone famous while on campus: Maybe Bill Gates will casually stroll in the engineering yard?
  5. Become a Stanford Tour Guide: I have dreamed of being a tour guide for future students because a high school student’s first impression of a specific university is important in setting their goals. I want to answer all of your questions and be the person I wish I had when I applied to Stanford.

My first term at Stanford was a perfect combination of exploration, friendships, and stressful nights of hosting p-sets at 11:59 pm Although I’m not sure what the winter term will be like, I know I have a lot to look forward to soon. .