This post was updated July 14 at 5:33 p.m. Beep. Beep. Beep. If my alarm fails to wake me up, the barrage of sounds from my phone jolts me awake each morning. Read more...

Photo: (Matthew Park/Daily Bruin)

This post was updated Aug. 4 at 7:01 p.m. Feeling connected to your culture when you’ve never visited the motherland, don’t know how to cook the food or speak the language, and have always lived in predominantly white areas seems like an impossible task. Read more...

Photo: Ria Sanghera (right) and her sister Jaya Sanghera (left) give a speech at their uncle’s wedding. (Courtesy of Ria Sanghera)

This post was updated Aug. 4 at 7:06 p.m. While the sound of gospel music has evolved, its spirit of heartfelt worship remains encapsulated within contemporary Christian music today. Read more...

Photo: (Alicia Caldera/Daily Bruin)

This post was updated June 30 at 8:55 p.m. From a young age, I recall spending late nights at special family gatherings dancing to Bollywood songs, regardless of whether I understood them or not. Read more...

Photo: (Kathalia Wong/Daily Bruin)

This post was updated July 7 at 5:26 p.m. Like battleworthy armor, my headphones streaming Taylor Swift’s latest drop shield me from the usual campus chaos. Read more...

Photo: (Kelly Gee/Daily Bruin)

“What do you mean you don’t know who Maria De Filippi is?” After living my whole life in Portland, Oregon, at 15 years old, I moved to Italy – a place that many would call a paradisiacal destination – with my family due to my parents’ divorce. Read more...

Photo: Manarola, a small town in the Italian Riviera, is pictured at sunset. (Courtesy of Chiara Grasso)

I slammed the car door shut. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I aggressively threw my piano books everywhere. “I don’t want to do piano anymore,” I cried to my mom. Read more...

Photo: Hayley Labia sits at a piano and smiles for a portrait. (Nicolas Greamo/Daily Bruin senior staff)