The month of September flew by, and I didn’t realize until just now that it is the last first month I will have experienced as an undergraduate at Stevens. And thinking back, the past three Septembers before this one have all been a blur too.
Freshman year, I was very excited to learn new things and meet new people, and I made good progress toward that goal. I do remember feeling like I still didn’t quite fit in, but I was already involved in several aspects of campus life and felt confident that, eventually, I would.
Sophomore year, the month was marked by the haze of a full semester on Zoom while I was cooped up in the room I grew up in back home. Classes were fairly boring but still okay, and I missed my Stevens friends but got closer with my family. I resolved to break out of this dull routine by taking more walks and reading and writing more.
Junior year, the thrill of being back on campus and the craziness of full-on in-person life again made this first-month rush by. I had multiple leadership positions that I struggled to balance, but I was more motivated than ever to serve in them, and I felt the support from now old friends.
In retrospect, Septembers have been a mixed bag for me, fluctuating between good and bad like the weather between hot and cold. Because of this, I’ve realized how important September is. It sets that baseline for what is to come, with a chance to reassess and readjust goals before getting too deep into the school year. It may be daunting that there are still several months to go, but it’s a good feeling for me because I realize there is lots of time ahead, and I’ve made it through the first, and thus, in many respects, the hardest month of all.
Of course, there remains the difficulty of that reassessment and readjustment going forward. My goals for the coming month are to bang out my graduate program applications (more on that in my next article!), take more walks while the weather is still reasonable, and introduce a bit more structure into my daily schedule by blocking out times to complete specific tasks. Will all those goals be met? Maybe. But right now, I’ve concluded that these are the main areas I want to tackle.
And there are things from this September that I want to carry on too. The overall work-life balance has gone surprisingly well for me, and I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to act in the SDS Fall Play (come see it November 3rd-5th), write for this column, and “For Math’s Sake” (check it out next week for more cool math), and try new restaurants and coffee shops in Hoboken (try Bon Banh and Mojo).
September has that special quality of providing a lot even if it feels like a little. It’s not the perfect month, but it’s that first piece of data to help us navigate the rest of the uncertain year. It’s likely that every month will require this, but one month has to set the tone, and this month when school begins has taken on that role. I am thankful to September for that.
Be First to Comment