Yesterday afternoon I visited M. at her quaint apartment in West Davis. She invited me in to her immaculate room, with all her books and various sundries neatly stacked on a shelf. Tiny florescent post-it notes enlivened the space above her computer. A humble black Buddhist altar sat at the center of the room, and below it, a list of goals she was chanting for. We talked about her future plans for the next year, and what she wants to do when she graduates UC Davis. I asked her why she recently started chanting, and she told me about her boyfriend who told her if she tried chanting she would "become happy." Though she was previously a Christian, she said that she had never heard a religion promise to make people happy and that intrigued her. We also discussed the upcoming "Rock the Era" celebration in L.A. I realized while encouraging her to participate I knew very little about it. All I could say was that based on experience, it was something she wouldn't want to miss!