Sophia Chung

COL ’14
Age: 21
Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.
Major: Chemistry

How does being in L.A. compare to being at Georgetown?
It’s so much more relaxed at home. It’s just sunny all the time. The fashion and style is completely different; it’s so much more relaxed and you can just wear flip-flops around. It’s definitely not as uptight or dressed up as here.

Do you feel like you have to be busy at Georgetown?
I definitely do think busyness is glorified. People do kind of judge other people if they say, “Oh yeah, I’m just hanging out and relaxing with friends tonight” or “I’m just going to watch TV for a few hours.” People are like, “Well, I’m doing all this.” People complain to each other all the time about being busy, but they definitely glorify it as well.

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done?
One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do is being OK with not having a set plan in life and not being sure where to go after college, having no idea what I want to do in the future and just accepting that. And also accepting not challenging myself to the complete potential. After college I could do so many things that require eight years of school and are seen as prestigious and lead to lucrative careers, but I think coming to realize that the balance between work life and personal life is really important and happiness isn’t just being seen as really intelligent and successful in that sense. And you can still be successful and happy just being OK with taking time to enjoy life and do something that’s maybe not the intellectual limits of challenging yourself, but just taking a step back and not knowing where you’re going to go or just being not as fulfilled as you always imagined your life to be.

What do you do for fun?
I like to dance, explore the city, eat really good food. Just always go out on adventures and stuff. I say I like to read, but it’s really hard to read when there’s so many other things I could be doing outdoors and exploring.

Who’s a TV character you see yourself in?
Any one of those shows on the Discovery Channel where they drop you in the middle of the wilderness and you have to find your way back to civilization and survive with really basic tools — that’s what I see myself as. Just because I think it would be so fun to completely get away from all the material items and live with nature for a while.

Interview by Emma Hinchliffe