It's that time of year. Everyone and their brother is making lists, so, why not jump on the bandwagon?
This has been a pretty surreal year for me, and in just a few short hours, the year will officially be the same as my class year at Rochester—you know what that means … GRADUATION TIME! So what better time to stop and reflect than before moving forward into what I'm sure will be another momentous year.
In no particular order, I've compiled some key moments from this year that have helped "make" my Rochester experience, and that I think everyone should partake in:
1. Take a class you've always wanted to. I'd been hearing about the class "Speaking Stones" since I was a freshman; it's a class that studies Rochester's fabled Mt. Hope Cemetery in depth. It's one of those classes that you truly could only take at Rochester, and I've been wanting to sign up for four years. I finally had a chance to actually go for it, and it turned out to be one of the coolest classes I've ever taken. Not only did it manage to bring alive a subject that's entirely about death, but it also made me feel incredibly more connected to this city that has become another one of my homes. For me, Mt. Hope is no longer just a pretty place at the back of the campus that's nice for long walks in any season, it's now a place replete with life, stories, and mysteries.
2. Go to the Boar's Head Dinner as a senior. The Boar's Head Dinner is one of our campus' oldest traditions, celebrating its 79th anniversary this year. It is a medieval-style dinner where professors dress in ridiculous costumes (you get to see some male deans dressed in tights…), a cappella groups sing festive carols and serve food, one student group "passes the boar's head"—yes, there is a real boar's head—onto another student group as recognition of their contribution to campus, and the jugglers put on a show. It's a great time, and I've made a point to go every year since I was sophomore, but it's different when you're a senior. First of all, you get the privilege of advanced ticket purchase, but there's also a moment during the dinner when Dean Burns makes all the seniors stand while the whole hall sings The Genesee. It's cheesy, but standing up, looking around at my classmates really gave me goose bumps. I know we still have many months more to go before we've "made it," but just making it this far is still significant.
3. Study abroad. I actually was not a huge proponent of studying abroad when I was a freshman. I felt like I loved it too much on campus to want to leave. I'd signed on for four years at the University of Rochester, why would I want anything less than those four years? I'm not totally sure what changed my mind—maybe it was the unique internship component of the program I ultimately chose—but boy am I glad I went. It changed my perspective on everything I do and why I do it. It gave me affirmation that I do indeed know what I want to do with my life and it gave me the courage to actually go ahead and pursue that. It allowed me to make friendships that I don't think I would've forged otherwise, and that have only grown stronger since returning from London. But most importantly, it exposed me to a whole new world and culture in a unique way that is so much deeper than just being a tourist in a new city, and that is invaluable.
4. Apply for things, even if you're not sure about them. We have this amazing program called Theatre in England that is run through the English Department. It's a class that takes place in London over winter break and is structured around seeing two plays a day for twelve days. It's a crazy program, incredibly unique, and something I'd been eyeing since freshman year. I never applied, simply because I didn't think I could afford it, and because I didn't think anyone besides English majors would be going, so I assumed I would be out of the loop. I was incredibly wrong on both accounts. I decided to apply this year, mostly because I've acquired the "Why not! I'm a senior and it's my last chance" attitude recently. First of all, I received an extremely generous grant that is enabling me to go, and second of all, most of the group is actually made up of non-English majors, and I was surprised to find out that a few people I know are even going. In other words, I almost barred myself from what I'm sure will be an incredible experience for two completely unfounded reasons. I'm leaving for this trip on January 1 and I'll be there right up until classes start next semester. It's going to be a crazy whirlwind of activity, but a) I am WICKED excited to be in a position where I can go back to London only a mere 6 months after I left from my semester abroad. I knew I would be back; I love it too much to stay away for too long. But I had no idea it would be so soon, and I literally can't believe it's true, and b) I am in a state of ecstasy over the fact that Rupert Grint, Jude Law, David Tennant, Brendan Coyle, and Ben Whishaw are all acting in various plays that we'll be seeing. The lesson here is, you should always go for something you're even mildly interested in; you just never know.
5. Allow yourself to make hard choices. This is a pretty vague one, but it's something that I think takes a long time to be comfortable with, and is something that everyone should challenge themselves with now and then. I've had a few times this past year where I've had to choose between or among things that all mean a great deal to me, but there is one particular situation that I have in mind. Up until I went abroad last spring, my entire college experience was completely defined and consumed by the Campus Times. I spent every spare moment of my time there, I made almost all of my best friends there, and I even spent my free time at parties, campus events, or out to dinner with my fellow staff members. It was the defining era of my college experience. I had to abstain from running for a position when we held elections last year because I was about to leave for my semester abroad, but I fully intended on reintegrating myself in some way when I came back in the fall. But when I got back, I ultimately decided I actually needed to move on. I was faced with either going back to an organization that had pretty much already given me everything, or devoting my time and energy to new experiences. I decided to go with the latter, which allowed me to take six classes this semester (it's more common to take four, maybe five), take on the role of president for UR Celtic, and, honestly, just have a fuller social life. It was one of the hardest choices I've ever made, but I don't regret it at all. And I obviously still stop by the CT office to hang out!
6. Do something, or many things, that scare you. As with the last one, this is something I've had more than one encounter with this year. One of the best examples, however, occurred at the Intercollegiate Irish Dance Festival I went to with UR Celtic the weekend before Thanksgiving. I had never competed in Irish dance before, unlike many of the other people in my group. We had the opportunity to compete in several categories, one of which was the fun number, which included the entire group and was thus less intimidating. But one of them was a category called the four-hand. It is what it sounds like: there are only four people on stage. That automatically puts the judges eyes right on you; you can't hide. This terrified me, but I did it anyway. Our group placed second to last, which is pretty terrible, but I nonetheless walked off stage feeling proud. It honestly didn't matter that we didn't do so well; it mattered that I did it at all. This is something that's really hard to learn to do, and I'm still working on it myself, but the more I push myself into these kinds of situations, whether it's with academics, personal relationships, extracurriculars, etc., the easier it gets and the better it makes you feel.
With that, I hope everyone has a wonderful winter break and a happy, healthy 2014 to come!