Disorganized rant #1

Back in August 2008, when I was about to start my freshmen year of college, there were several events conducted by the school during with the purpose of making the transition progress from life at home to college smoother--aka orientation. Although people have a ton of orientation stories that have nothing to do with the actual orientation because no one remembers most of the activities or talks from orientation, I found some value in orientation. Actually, to be perfectly honest, I don't remember any of the actual orientation either, but there's one particular moment that stands out. During a really long series of speeches given in a cozy room full of freshmen, a woman talked about how the whole point of college was to come out a different person than who they currently were.

We were being challenged to step outside of our comfort zone, join clubs, try new things, hang out with people you wouldn't usually hang out with, play sports, engage in substance abuse, and basically push ourselves in any way we could--or at least that's what I thought at the time. See, I now realize that what she actually meant was not to live through these things, but to live alongside them and see what you can take away from it, and what you can leave back. Your life isn't defined by where you are, who you're with, or even what you do. I think life is more about how you react to certain situations and, to quote a cliche, how to "grow from them". There's a reason why people only really remember certain classes from college, certain people they meet, certain social gatherings, etc. I mean, sure we all love things that give us immediate satisfaction like fireworks, chocolate, or even simple comedy (seeing someone puke, slip in their vomit, pass out, wake up the next morning with half a face of vomit and half a face of black-sharpie penises), but it's still bigger than that.

At the end of the day, everything you do is pretty selfish in one way or another because all you really do is subconsciously use everything and everyone else to become a better version of yourself (hopefully). You doesn't really change your persona during college--you simply become a more defined version of who you are and this is done through choice. I guess my point is that people are more distanced from their surroundings than they think they are. When all is said and done, we're all forming impressions of ourselves in the world, but these impressions are constantly changing. So, in a way, we don't actually ever change.

An Alumni Weekend Worthy of Itself

September 28th-30th marked the first official "reunion" between the 2012 Gettysburg College graduates with each other as well as with past 'Burgians. Despite the fact that graduation day was only four months ago and some of us had seen each other since then, it was great to get that sense of familiarity back, even if only for two plus days.

Although there were plans being made left and right weeks before the weekend even started, the vast number of people and events that was filling up the campus made such plans hard to keep intact. Alumni weekend really begun Thursday night when a few old faces popped around campus, but the swarm of people who relished in the class and madness that Gettysburg brought to their lives came in Friday afternoon. After a Thursday night of some old jokes with friends, Beirut, a touch of energy, and the ever-smoky Mama's, I was ready to really see this historic weekend come into its own throughout the next two days.

Friday was a day of reminiscing and lowering my self-esteem by hearing people's great jobs and busy grad schools just enough to seek out some Gettysburg fun. However, seeing everyone regress to the Gettysburg way(with a bit more maturity and a little less... tolerance for certain things) made me feel a little better about myself. Although the night started in a similar fashion to Thursday night, seeing Garryowen's Irish Pub packed to the point where my friends and I were unable to find a seat to enjoy our pints of classy brews made me realize the importance of the event. Every college has its own identity, and Gettysburg is marked by the loyalty of its past and present students to the local bars, restaurants, town spots, and of course, the college. It really became one of those "appreciate this moment and smell the roses" cliche moment.

Saturday night was a monster of its own. It was a day of recovery through exercise and water, but the night had other plans. Between beers and pizza my friends' house, hanging out at my girlfriend's apartment and preparing for The Attic, the quality conversation-driven host provider social at The Attic with my brothers and friends, the pit stop in the science center to take a piss, the hot and humid basement party, and the late-night blackout party, it was an unbelievable 11 hours that were coasted through with no regrets and nothing but satisfaction.

This trademark Gettysburg weekend will be one to remember even though the post-college reunions have only begun. Nevertheless, it was a chance to remember the opportunity that Gettysburg has created for those alums with jobs and grad school, as well as those of us who have yet to find such luck or even figure out how to move forward from here.