College is all about finding balances. Study or sleep? Go to class or not? Party or stay in? Join that extracurricular activity or save your time? Support what you believe or support what is easy? Go with the flow or make the flow go with you? Smile at the weird girl or walk right by? Enjoy it or not?
As of today, I have been here for two months. I've got a pretty regular schedule worked out and feel like I have a pretty balanced life here. It's weird, I sometimes feel more at home here than I ever did over the previous four years at MV.
I am actually enjoying almost all of my classes here. My freshman-only hardcore lit class sucks, but even in there I can't help but be ensconced by how into it the professor is. My upper-level political science course is probably the most interesting topic on my schedule, which makes me feel better about wanting to become a poli sci major. The articles we are reading are fascinating in both their conclusions and their gaps in logic. To be noticing flaws in the logic of long-tenured oft-published professors is fun to say the least.
The friend group I am a part of is comfortable, if unfortunately smaller than it used to be. Making a completely new set of friends has taught me something about myself. If I decide I like someone, I can ignore a whole lot of annoying traits that they may have. If I decide that I don't like someone, every little annoying trait bugs the hell out of me and I can't stand to be near them. Probably not the greatest thing in the world when the initial question of to like or not to like is normally mentally answered within ten seconds of meeting someone. (Note to Paulina: You may remember a similar comment in our favorite blog a long while ago, hopefully the comparisons end there.)
Friends are important, and so are classes and parties, but I don't think either of them are as important as your answer to the last of my questions posed above. What, did you think they were ALL rhetorical? If you make a conscious decision to enjoy something, you almost definitely will. This may be a little late for everyone else already in college, but maybe some youngin's are feeling Vaguely Cynical too. Decide to enjoy college before you get there. Decide to make an effort to make it be fun. If you do decide this, you will have the time of your life.
Don't be one of those people longing for their high school days for the rest of their lives. MV was an amazing place for my mind and I to develop together, but it wasn't THAT great, peoples.
My last tidbit of possibly unwanted advice is to find a good way to clear your head. For me, it's running and showering. Discover something that works well for you and use it to focus. It will be a help. And to continue my tradition of somewhat gross pictures, below is one I took with my cell phone after getting up off the ground next to the Washington Monument tonight (in the middle of my jogging).
3 comments:
hahahaa<3
this was an excellent post! chock full of delicious tidbits of advice and insight into your happy happy life at gdubs. (: i'm glad you're feeling super at home there but it is quite sad that you didn't feel the same way at mv. ): i miss you and high school a lot (not quite to unreasonable levels) but we did have some good times don't you think? keep having fun and keep updating me on life!
We definitely had some good times at MV, don't take this as some sort of rant against the place and my time there. Just creeps me out when people hold on to it too closely.
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