When I entered high school, I was highly optimistic about the world. I had a great sense of school spirit, loved all of my teachers, and wanted to make the most out of my four years. I later had a friend, three years my senior, ensure that by the time I graduated, I would hate the school and everything about it. She was right, although I intensely disliked her pessimism. As a senior, I counted down the days until I could attend Stevens. I won’t lie. It felt fantastic to have senioritis and complain about anything and everything. But I was worried that I would also grow a distaste towards my new school. I wanted to prevent this as much as possible, mainly because I planned on taking out loans to attend. I had to love every second. I would have wasted four years of my life if I didn’t. And a ton of money.
The truth is that it’s tough for me to hate on Stevens. I love it here so much. We don’t have the highest-ranked philosophy program, but the professors make it amazing. Professor Morgan always tries to make analogies that STEM students can understand. Or famous celebrities — we’ve unpacked the epistemologies of Andrew Tate numerous times. The campus is the perfect size for me; I can get my steps in and make it to class on time. I have mixed emotions about Pierce, but the cafe keeps me alive. Diane has my iced coffee ready as soon as I walk in. I love the parties, no matter how lame they’re said to be compared to Rutgers. But I’m not built for Rutgers parties; the stories I’ve heard bring tears to my eyes. So, I’m thankful for the more intimate gatherings at Stevens. I wish they would play less EDM; it’s tough to get hyped up to Taylor Swift. But everyone is so polite that I really can’t complain. I also enjoy walking down to Babbio and trying to only look at the view briefly, so I don’t give tourist vibes. It takes my breath away every time, though.
I hope that I’ll always feel this way about Stevens. There’s nothing wrong with being optimistic, and I hate when people think it’s cool to be a downer. You can keep your sadistic thoughts to yourself. You’ll be at school for four years; can you try convincing yourself that you enjoy it? Lying to yourself about your happiness is also a great way to become happy. The “fake it ‘til you make it” mentality is very powerful. In fact, I encourage everyone to be utterly delusional regarding optimism; shoot for the stars, babe! Doing anything to avoid getting up for your 8:00 a.m. at EAS? It’s because you’re not hyped enough. Put on some A$AP Ferg and get to work! Don’t want to complete your 67-page code? Put on the two-hour-long Mario Kart music; I swear it works wonders. Can’t bring yourself to go to the gym? Just take a look at Alix Earle’s Instagram feed, and convince yourself that you have the ability to look just as attractive, if not more.
In conclusion, you’re better off being blindly optimistic instead of pessimistic. Look for the good in everything. I promise you’ll find it.
