Well, I’m graduating. That’s pretty scary. So too was the time, almost exactly four years ago, when, as a high schooler who was one month away from another significant graduation, I accepted my offer from Conn. What came of that decision was the last four years of my life, which were in equal parts fun, stressful, uplifting, frustrating, jarring, moving and—you better believe it—scary. Now I’ve come full circle. What a ride!
I don’t have anything all that fresh to add to the conversation on significant moments in one’s life such as graduation, so instead here’s a scattered list of various things that have marked my time as a Connecticut College undergrad. Enjoy.
• The musical things: I think I’ve done it all. I played at Floralia sophomore year, played the last show to have been held in Abbey House, rocked out at Burning Camel, performed with the orchestra and brought back barn shows with my band the Sweatpant Boners. It didn’t matter that some shows had over 100 people while others barely had ten. They were special, they were unique and I could never have had those experiences anywhere but here.
• The friends: obviously. Most of the friends I spend time with nowadays are people I’ve gotten to know only over the last two years, and I’ve never been closer with any other group of people. Still, my best friend over these past four years was one I made on the first week of school. I remember helping him into bed when he drank too much freshman year. I also remember him helping me after I drank too much only a few weeks ago. Some things never change. I’m glad our friendship hasn’t.
• The things I shouldn’t have been doing: and not the underage drinking, or anything potentially harmful, but climbing to the roof of the AC, or smoking in the arboretum—stuff like that. I’ll remember those times not only because they felt forbidden and exciting, but because where and when else in my life am I going to get to do things like hitch a ride back to campus from downtown by sneaking onto the Coast Guard shuttle?
• The bad times: like the time when I missed home the first few weeks of school, or when I got a C- on an English paper I labored over as a sophomore, or even last month, when I began to doubt whether or not I’d be able to complete my thesis on time. I’ll never forget my college hardships and trials, not so I can try to recapture the utter dread I felt in those moments, but as a reminder that, no matter how upset and hopeless I may have felt at any given time, I always got past it.
—Matthew Whiman, Arts Editor
