I began college in September 2011. I just moved from China to the United States. By the Spring Quarter of 2012, I was struggling with English really hard. I was homesick. I was depressed. My Chinese culture did not help at all. The Chinese culture always promotes the mentality that "study in every and one of your waking moment."

Luckily, around March 2012, my friend Joann invited me to hang out on a weekend. Before we went back to our dorms, Joann asked me if I would like to visit the Arboretum. I said: "Sure. Why not?" Then Joann took me to see the creek in the Arboretum. It was the very first time I realized that I was allowed to have some time to relax, even when I was struggling academically.

Nine years have passed, life has thrown down many more challenges to me after college. However, my memory of that relaxing afternoon at the arboretum has always been my safe space.