I feel like I was supposed to graduate last year. No, seriously, I am probably the first person to ever enter senior year feeling fulfilled enough. This is probably a side effect of the curse of being the youngest one in a friend group. I watched most of my friends walk the stage last year and felt like my own experience was ending, too. I did all of their lasts with them: their last mixers, their last free campus events, their last dining hall trips. Somehow I doubt my own lasts will have as much emotional weight, because aren’t the people what make the experience?
Apparently that’s a bad attitude to have about senior year. My newly alumni friends get angry when I say I feel done with college, as they have been thrust into the chaos and unfamiliarity of post-grad life and wish they had one more year. So, with that, I am on a mission to do everything I can senior year that I never did. Every “silly” campus event, every Hoboken festival, and every opportunity that being a college student awards. Additionally, I have a mission to truly ingrain myself in the Hoboken community, not just our safe bubble of campus. I plan to stay here post grad and want to start making a home of Hoboken. I am on the search to broaden my horizons, to try new things, and to meet new people.
I recently ran for a small position in local politics and was lucky enough to win. As one of the two new Ward 6, District 2 Democratic Committee members, I’ve found a new sense of responsibility regarding Hoboken. The world is really scary right now; it’s hard to know what you could wake up to and read in the news cycles, but this new position has empowered me to attempt some stewardship of my community. I don’t know exactly where this new position will take me, but I do know that I intend to meet a lot of new people, learn about what they care about, and advocate for change.
I’m also going to try new things at a “smaller” level. I’m not a runner; I don’t even remember the last time I jogged, but I signed up to run the classic HoBOOken 5k in October. As I stare at the “Couch to 5k” training plan, I cringe at the idea of actually getting started, but hey, the first day just alternates between running and walking, so maybe I can survive! You won’t see me joining the Stevens Strava running cult any time soon though.
I think I am going to commit to eating at Pierce Dining Hall once a week. Yes, that is an extremely odd and somewhat torturous goal? However, I do have an RA meal plan, and I think the environment of Pierce Dining Hall allows for optimal people watching of the student body. You can feel the energy of the room and learn a lot about the campus vibes. Plus, I may be able to gain some insight into how the minds of the Class of 2029 (god, I’m old) function.
So, with the start of senior year fast approaching, join me in trying everything new, exciting, and scary, rather than focusing on the “lasts” and impending doom of post-grad.
