My first semester at Berkeley was particularly eventful. His first five months were the busiest I've ever had. It was about balancing my coursework responsibilities with a healthy social life, finding time for myself, and relaxing in the comfort of my home.
I wasn't sure if Berkeley was the right school for me. I was sociable, but I wasn't able to make the meaningful connections I had hoped for. These feelings were normal and expected, but I didn't realize their reality until I got to Berkeley. This feeling of emptiness and doubts about my purpose in college continued into winter break and was hard to resist.
In response, I looked for a solution that would allow me to feel emotionally supported during major life changes. On Christmas Eve, I was tired of feeling alone, so I decided to adopt a kitten from my hometown of Los Angeles and bring him to Berkeley as my sidekick. Here comes Pickle. I like to call him my Christmas miracle. As the months passed, my doubts about Cal began to fade and I grew to love Berkeley with Pickle by his side.
Pickle is a stocky, smoky gray cat with mischievous, flashing green eyes. When I adopted him, I was told that he was a Russian Blue breed and didn't have many allergies, but I doubt it because he sneezes a lot. I adopted him in December 2022 and moved into our Berkeley Hills home in June 2023.
When I first brought Pickle to Berkeley, he was a small gray cat with a big yawn, but over the past year he has grown into a muscular physique to match his noisy yawn. Pickle brightened up my home as soon as I moved in.
In our house and neighborhood, he is notorious as a miscreant. Pickles have an insatiable food palette (unfortunately, this is my fault). I consider him an expert on all things cheese and butter. The smell of butter cooking in the kitchen drives him crazy. He is a true Parisian. His love of food often gets him into trouble around the house and with my roommates.
Bringing a pet, especially a troublemaker like Pickle, to college requires careful consideration of space and time. In Pickle's case, his unusual personality and playful nature would have made dorm life difficult. My decision to live in a house near campus gave him space to grow and make other cat friends in the neighborhood. Thanks to Pickle, I learned a lot about time management and the need to think selflessly in a way. I make time before going to class to make sure my son is home, wake up early in the morning, feed him, and play with him during the day to get all his energy out. He also has a tendency to make messes and steal food from the counter, so I try to deal with that by replacing all the food he steals from his roommates and cleaning up after him as quickly as possible. I am.
Raising a pickle takes time, effort, and can be stressful at times, but pickles are the ones I look forward to bringing home. Having a pet in your college dorm brings brightness, cuteness, and comedic relief to your home.
He makes me biscuits every night before we cuddle and fall asleep. I'm eating a salmon bowl during lunch (I almost always give him a piece) and watching him roll around in the sunlight on the floor. At our house, we have a hole cut out in the fence called the cat highway, and Pickle passes through it to bring his neighbor's feline friends to the backyard. In the morning, I spy on his interactions with his feline friends in the backyard. The garden is full of cats. A cat lover's dream.
My favorite moments with Pickle are when I get home and he meows at me and I lay down on the couch and pet him and I go crazy and make me forget all my stress temporarily. is. Having Pickle by my side gives me this mental peace that I can't get anywhere else because we trust each other. Putting yourself aside and caring for other living things can also help you keep yourself balanced. Pickles humble me when I need it.
