There were reasons why I came to Cornell. Even though no longer relevant, I will faithfully excise them from the sandy parts of my mind and rinse:

1. Ithaca, NY is far, far away from my hometown in Arizona
2. Cornell University gives need-based financial aid to Canadians
3. Cornell University is an Ivy-League with the same reputation
4. Cornell University’s computer science program ranks in the top 5
5. Cornell University is large enough for me to do whatever I want, should I decide to pursue new interests

If you’re looking for my five top reasons to attend CU in 2002, there they are. I never imagined that I would learn to speak Chinese and Spanish, write programs as well as proofs, TA a course, found a popular but controversial blog, get engaged, take English courses, drop my dreams of being a Cardiac surgeon, or worry about grades.