Every fall, as the temperature drops to a brisk chill and the tips of the trees begin to caramelize, professors bombard their poor students with exams, papers, presentations and any other form of assessment to mark the halfway point of the semester.
As I carefully perused my bank accounts last night, pretending to be an adult, I came to the realization that my coffee trips and crucial late-night refueling occur with shocking frequency; if I keep it up, I can expect to be broke by February.Students at an esteemed university such as our own hold themselves to incredibly high standards and push themselves to accomplish remarkable things.
No, I don?t plan to break out in song von Trapp style. I do, however, want to recognize some of the things on Grounds that have made returning to school and getting back into the swing of rigorous class work worthwhile.While the refurbishing of Clemons Library makes it a much more idyllic place to study, I have always been partial to Clark Library.
First-years: Let me begin by commending your bravery. You have recently endured a difficult few days of saying goodbye to your friends and families back home, packing away your entire lives and arriving to a foreign place only to realize you don?t have air conditioning (unless you live in Kellogg, Woody or Cauthen, and if so, get prepared to hear a lot of your new friends whine).It is likely you brought a formidable array of belongings with you to Charlottesville.
Recently, the University's Alumni Association hosted its annual Reunions Weekend: the ultimate chance for more than 4,000 devoted alumni to relive memories, catch up with old friends and tease their nostalgic whims by seeing how much things have really "changed" since their time as students. With the advent of computer technology, multifaceted diversity and architectural expansion, it seems that our predecessors would recognize hardly anything but Jefferson's own Rotunda.
I should clarify. My grades are fine, I am responsible with alcohol and I maximize my undergraduate experience every day (after all, I did just go to the last Second Year Series Dinner). I keep things in perspective and develop healthy attachments ... with the sole exception of Gmail and Alderman Café. My area of fault lies not in the gauge of my character or my intellectual tenacity, but that I, like many women before me, am a terrible packer.
Now that the college Spring Break season has died down and a proliferation of photo albums have been posted on Facebook, I find myself spending many classroom minutes perusing them when I should be paying attention rather than living vicariously through some of my dear friends.
For those of you not embarking on fabulous study abroad opportunities this summer, relax. It is in fact possible to gain an international cultural experience within the local vicinities of our dear University rather than toil with transportation, passports and those pesky little things called classes.
During the elaborate student hubbub last week on the South Lawn in preparation for Senator Clinton's visit, I kept myself busy by gathering up the multitude of posters and walking away like a kid retiring from a very successful trick-or-treat.
People exit this world as quickly as they enter it. Some may spend their time quietly, while others choose to make some noise, kick some butt and take some names.
