Random Scrap:
"You need to do whatever it takes to get into Berkeley". I had just met Professor Scarffe while walking toward the library. It was one of those nice winter sunny days with fresh and sharp air. Sort of how you would feel in the mountain resort in late spring. A few days earlier I had been awarded the highest scholarship available for an international student (a one off thousand dollars) and I was thanking her for writing me a letter of recommendation. She had graduated from Berkeley herself and then London School of Economics. There was not a single paper I wrote that wouldn't have some critical comments. I really liked that. And now she was pushing me to do something impossible. I had kept my promise to Akira to keep my straight A student status so I knew I had a real chance to at least get into UCLA. The problem, of course, was the money. The tuition in those universities was around 25,000 dollars a year, four times my college fees. An impossible amount to earn. I thanked Mrs. Scarffee for her nice words and continued walking towards my destination. Berkeley, what a lifetime opportunity that would be!