I’m now a Stanford student.

Tomorrow morning, I move in to Stanford.

When I try to say the words in my head, they don’t seem real. “I’m a Stanford student” doesn’t roll off the tongue easily. One year ago, I would’ve never guessed that Stanford would be the place I’d be calling my home—I was convinced that I’d be seeing autumn-colored trees, not palm trees, on the East Coast, not the West. And statistically, the odds were pretty good, since a majority of the schools I applied to were on the East Coast… Stanford being the sole West Coast school I considered.

But now, after what felt like an eternal summer that had enough time to do a two-month hospital internship and binge-watch all six seasons of Game of Thrones, I’m officially becoming a college student. It’s both nerve-wracking and exciting, and as much as I’m sad about not being able to see my brother, my parents, and my dog for months at a time, I’m ready for a modicum of independence and the chance to forge my own path at one of the best—if not the best!—universities in the country, maybe even the world.

I have a pretty bad track record of posting on this blog, even when I promise myself I’ll do it. Regardless, I’m still making a promise to myself to post on here and my food blog Bok Choy and Broccoli at least every two weeks. The Stanford campus is vast and beautiful, so hopefully it’ll provide me inspiration for blog posts. And of course, I’ll continue updating everyone through social media.

I also like handwritten letters and gifts (I’ll always write back!), so if you’d like to send me anything through the U.S. Postal Service, my address is:

Joshua Cobler
531 Lasuen Mall
P.O. Box 17296
Stanford, CA 94309

If you’d like to send me a non-USPS shipment, or if you don’t know what mail carrier will be used (an Amazon package, for instance, which I would greatly appreciate), my address is as follows: