I’m not going to lie, but I completely forgot I had an article due this week. So, here we are, Sunday night scrambling to put together enough coherent thoughts to fill the 550 word count of this column. My friends often ask if it’s hard to come up with new article ideas biweekly. My truthful answer is that coming up with the ideas is not difficult, but it can be hard to keep a constant theme throughout the entire article. The sporadic thoughts rushing through my head mimic the unpredictable nature of being a college student. One minute I am in class learning about random sciencey things, and the next I am throwing on a cute outfit to go into New York with my friends.
I don’t really have a routine or schedule besides going to class. The rest of my time is filled with procrastinating homework and enacting spontaneous plans with friends. My current favorite forms of procrastination include scrolling through LinkedIn trying to add to my connections, cleaning out my email which never seems to be empty, and deleting old, useless files from my laptop. These might sound like incredibly strange ways to spend my free time, but they make me feel accomplished while also using little to no brain power. Of course, when there is absolutely no way I can even find the energy to read a sentence or two, I resort to the classic forms of procrastination like binge-watching shows on Netflix or mindlessly scrolling through TikTok.
The other thing about writing this column is that there is always something to talk about. This weekend was admitted student weekend. I could talk about my experience volunteering and basically becoming a statue who stood at the gate near Castle Point and pretended to be useful. Then, there were the never-ending tours that took place right outside of my door, aka Davis dorm room tours. Although these things might have altered normal life as a student, it was enjoyable interacting with potential future students. Plus, there was free ice cream at Babbio, which was one of the highlights of my week.
On another note, I can’t write this article without addressing the approaching end of freshman year. I have truly enjoyed my Stevens experience and can’t imagine spending an entire summer away from this place that is like my second home. Even though I only live a few states away, it’s far enough that I won’t be able to see my New Jersey friends throughout the summer. And despite knowing each other for less than a year, I can’t imagine life without them, even if it is only a few months over the summer.
To end on a happy (and less sappy) note, let’s talk about the fact that the end of the school year means summer, spending time at the beach, and catching up on hobbies that were abandoned to make time for schoolwork. I plan on spending my free time knitting scarves (the only thing I can make), reading books (or a singular book, let’s not set too high of expectations), and sharing college stories with high school friends.
Mind of a Freshman is an Opinion column written by one or two first-year Stevens students to discuss life experiences during their time at Stevens, and other related subject matter.
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