But the gym isn’t the only source of exercise for the Bruins. That would be too easy, too simple. Instead, there’s commuting, walking 25 minutes from your dorm to your chem class on the other side of campus. But that’s not the worst of it; that’s when you have to walk (hike) up Bruin Walk and back to your dorm (after climbing the 76 steps that lead up to it). This spoiled Harvard student thought she might check out the Northwest campus shuttle, running conveniently between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., Monday through Friday. The van, which almost never shows up, takes about 20 minutes to complete a five-minute drive, complemented by a cranky driver who hates the fact that he’s making life easier for a few students. This option is not recommended. Simply remind yourself that exercise is a good thing, and make like Richard Simmons up that hill. Your body will thank you once you get back to your daily pasta and potatoes at every meal, come fall.

***

Is UCLA a bad place? Definitely not. Is it fair for me to tell people at the breakfast table that it has essentially the same atmosphere as Harvard? Absolutely not. The schools are divergent in just about every way, or so it seems. Still, it’s my responsibility to use this summer as a time to reflect, to take the challenges I’ve faced at UCLA this summer and apply that same energy to a reexamination of what works and what doesn’t at Harvard. Otherwise, those 76 steps up to Rieber Hall every day after chemistry didn’t mean too much.

Deborah B. Doroshow ’04, a Crimson editor, is a History and Science concentrator in Mather House. She very much likes little cubes of blue jello in ice cream dishes, but hates The Daily Bruin, UCLA’s student newspaper.