This September, the new worst class ever will arrive in Hanover, sad to be leaving their high school friends, confused about Dartmouth terms like "facetime" and "blitz" (RIP) and inevitably looking for guidance on this oh-so-large and bustling campus. For perhaps the first time in our own Dartmouth careers, these younger students will be looking to us. As much as I live in denial that my Dartmouth career is finite, it might be time to start considering what wisdom we will impart as upperclassmen.
In reflecting on my first two years, I realize that I have learned just as much inside the classroom as out, that fraternity basements are just as valid social laboratories as those in Moore and that even though I'm officially old, I will forever be my freshman self bad at pong and way too excited for every first day of classes.
Three lessons I've learned so far at Dartmouth:
- Don't cry over ruined frat shoes. For anyone who has walked into a frat basement that is delightfully coated with some mystery slush (read: AD), this one might seem like a no-brainer. Embarrassingly enough, it took me until my freshman Spring to figure out that if I wanted to preserve my nicer foot apparel, I should only wear cheap, dingy shoes out on Fridays and Saturdays (sorry, Mom!).
But the lesson I learned from the necessity of frat shoes has been one that I've been able to apply to my Dartmouth career at-large: You get out what you put in. Eight-dollar shoes are perfect for trudging around dark social spaces lined with urine and other questionable substances, but a $50,000-plus tuition every year should be treated with better care. I've learned to have fun over the weekends (and Mondays and Wednesdays), but to maintain focus and drive when it comes to my academics here. Your 10A might be brutal, but so would graduating and feeling as if you didn't learn as much as you could have or didn't apply yourself as much as you wanted to.
- Don't get caught up the creek without a (pong) paddle. We've all felt the despair of having a 25-page paper that doesn't even have a cohesive thesis due the next day, or the endless search for a fourth on a Tuesday night, or wanting the February weather to break freezing. A lot of things at the College seem out of our control, and, as I've learned, they are. We might never be able to change the nuisance of waiting in a 30-minute line at Novack when class began five minutes ago or the fact that 3FB closes at 2 a.m. when we still have work to do. But that doesn't mean we can't try.
Our Dartmouth careers thus far have seen a lot of changes from a new president to a new e-mail system and hopefully, we haven't been complacent for any of it. So keep getting involved in the closing of the river docks, keep applauding the football team for (slowly, but surely) improving. We will soon enough be the leaders of this campus, we need to start making it the type of place we would like to inherit.
Next time you're up the creek without a paddle, don't just sit back and let the (Connecticut?) river take you where you don't want to go. We've proven ourselves to be intelligent, engaged students over these last two years and this trend should only increase as we take the helm of this great institution.
- Make hay while Warner Bentley's nose still shines. I'm not typically one for superstition, but I can say with 100 percent scientific accuracy that rubbing Warner Bentley's oddly metallic nose will make you do exponentially better on any endeavor. But I guess touching the old statue's nose isn't about getting the grade or the guy/girl. It's about becoming a part of a long-standing Dartmouth tradition (how many touches did it take before the black veneer rubbed off?) and believing in the magic that has been passed on from class to class since 1769. As we begin our last two years here at the College, I think we all need to keep creating new traditions with friends and professors, through hikers and Collis Ray. Some of my best experiences have been engaging in those termly rituals with friends. Whether it's the Ledyard Challenge or rushing the field during the Homecoming game, we Dartmouth students need to make our marks.
Two more years to keep learning. Thank goodness.
