Opinion Page

Opinion of My Experience Here so Far

By Kelsey Cole

There’s one thing for certain. It sure does stank at Monmouth.

While still correcting myself when I slip the word ‘home’ instead of ‘dorm room,’ I find myself in the biggest transition of my life thus far: freshman year of college life.

It’s pretty glorious in most respects, yet in some instances I am hesitant of the transition. I’ll bring forth the bad first because I always love ending on good notes.

I have got to admit, I’m a little disappointed in many elements of the beginning of freshman year. I was so excited to come here I started packing five days in advance “to make sure I didn’t forget anything.” And forget things, I most certainly did.

Within the first month I was successfully disappointed in the clubs I had hoped would welcome me with open arms, the students who I thought would be more open-minded and past the insecurities that were so prevalent in high school, and the classes that I thought would rock my socks off.

I anticipated college to be so much better than high school when, in fact, it appeared to be three times worse. I felt like I was entering my freshman year of high school with drama sprouting every which way and the superficiality of people obviously prevalent.

I tried searching out for those upper classmen that I figured would be the people mature enough to accept the new class with great anticipation for those new and refreshing ideas and minds. Were they hiding under rocks, scampering away when they caught a new face out of the corner of their eye? At ‘get-togethers’ the upper classmen would always be in their own world with each other, seemingly refusing to allow others into their little clique. I felt completely wrong in my prospects of this ‘new world’.

And now that I scan the ideas of my thought process that only existed a few months ago, I see all the flaws of it and how I had absolutely no patience.

Of course the upper classmen were excited at seeing their old friends they hadn’t seen all summer. They were so eager to catch up on old times that they were oblivious to the others standing on the outskirts looking to make friends. Plus, I am not that bubbly of a person to make good friends with someone on first contact (other than those rare circumstances) so I wasn’t necessarily working my end of a relationship.

My fellow classmen will get over their overpowering insecurities eventually; they just need time to adjust to their new living arrangements. And not everyone matches this one criterion. I have already met a handful of people who disprove my previous description, and I just know that there are others, hiding though they may be.

My classes are getting better; I just had to dismiss the negative attitude I had towards their inability to challenge me as my senior year of high school classes did. These are 101 classes and I should have anticipated the level they are set to teach at. I should have known that I wouldn’t have just slipped into certain college extracurriculars. It’s just that I hadn’t experienced that beginning involvement process for at least two years.

Classes are challenging me in my own way, people are lightening up to make other friends, I’m getting seriously involved in my favorite hobbies (including starting an Ultimate Frisbee team and running a radio show), the trees are changing gorgeous shades, I get to sleep under the covers…Life is good in my eyes.

 I just needed a serious attitude check.