# @ucsandiego on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CWZJ2hUh-dO
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/75466145-ucsandiego-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/8f589e5637.jpg
- **Posted:** 2021-11-17T22:03:14.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** UC San Diego / UCSD (@ucsandiego) — https://gondola.cc/ucsandiego

## Caption

(1/2) “Very early on, I developed a love for music. I grew up in a difficult home environment but always felt safe when practicing at the keyboard. Music was a creative outlet for me to express things I was too afraid to say in words. 
I completed an Associate’s in Piano Performance shortly before I completed a B.S. in Zoology. After graduation, I found employment in administrative roles. I had financial security but something felt missing. In school, I’d pass by the music building every day and think about what it would be like to study music. I decided to resign from my job, gather my savings, and go on a solo trip to Vienna. I came back from the trip with the decision that I’d apply to music school. I took a year to prepare for auditions and graduated with a B. Mus. in music composition in Toronto four years later.
I then moved to Victoria to pursue my master's. I experienced imposter syndrome and had a rough first semester being far from home; I wanted to give up and not come back after the holidays. After talking to my advisor, I decided to give it another try. This ended up being a transformative experience personally and professionally. I applied to doctoral programs after but was unsuccessful. I moved back home to Toronto to work on my portfolio before a second round of applications. I got involved in the music community and saw my pieces performed, co-organized workshops with amazing musicians and submitted my application to UCSD for the 2nd time, getting admitted to the Composition Ph.D. program in February 2018.
Two weeks after, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I went from feeling so much happiness to complete shock and numbness. I felt like I had fallen into a nightmare that I couldn’t wake up from. I went through surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, countless medical appointments and tests. I had to defer my program start date by a year. In the middle of my chemotherapy treatment, my then-fiancé changed his mind about our future together. It felt like my entire life fell apart: my health, my partner, my future plans as I knew them.” 
- Janet Sit (she/her), 3rd Year Ph.D. Music Composition Student #TritonStories #InternationalStudentDay

## Stats

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- **Likes:** 1,119
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- **Comments:** 9

## Credits

No public credits are recorded here. This does not identify who made the post.

## Tags

internationalstudentday, tritonstories

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