The fabulous life of........a first year

Author: Katie Glass

We are meant to remember college as the best years of our lives - a time of self-discovery, newfound independence and the establishment of lifelong friendships. At the same time, however, there is always the underlying stress associated with doing well in school and keeping up with massive amounts of homework. Torn between the two extremes of socializing and studying, we must manage our time in order to do both for four years without going insane. Sometimes this seems almost impossible, as there are days when you simply cannot possibly tear yourself away from the important thing you are doing at the time - which is usually chatting on AIM or stalking on www.thefacebook.com, watching "The O.C.," talking to friends in the hall or even napping - to do the required reading for a class. These lazy days are often followed immediately by two or three crazy days during which you don't even have time for meals because you are too busy making up for all the time you stupidly wasted.

Before coming to Middlebury I admit I had some notions of what college life was going to be like. And for the most part I was right - football parties are out of control, everyone works out a lot, it does get really cold and people are actually as friendly as they seemed when I was a prospective student. However, there are some things I know I was not expecting, although in retrospect they seem obvious. For example, did I really think I wouldn't have to do any work for my classes? And did I honestly think I could still go out every single night and then function properly in class the next day? Dealing with the harsher realities of college has been a hurdle, but there have also been many pleasant surprises. For instance, the library - a place I formerly scorned - is actually very cozy and has played a significant role in my social life.

I have already seen so many people broadening their horizons in the past two months: trying out new sports, music groups, languages, clubs and other activities. A friend of mine created the now-infamous weekly Quidditch tournaments, another is starting her third language and another is actually excited about learning how to snowshoe this winter. Everyone I meet is passionate about something, and I find we relate to each other so well because we all have something distinctively special to offer - a unique interest, a talent or a general life experience. And although fulfilling the distribution requirements can be somewhat frustrating, because of them I have taken classes that I would never had dreamed of taking. Now I can - as my mother says - "read the Wall Street Journal as an educated person, and finally understand it."

After almost completing our first semester at college, the novelty of our new lives has slowly worn off as the workload sets in and cold weather threatens. But there always remains something to look forward to including J-term, February break and spring break.