Hey all,
I apologize for my really long absence from this blog. I feel like there are times you just need to breathe and reflect on everything going on in your life, so you shut out for a little while and sort things out and come back to it all with a new perspective.
Being at Rutgers makes me feel like I'm going on a really long Privilege Walk, in which I experience and exchange so much information with other people. My mind has been on a total overload between this and that and everything in between. I was really naive before coming to Rutgers, believing that nothing could ever be more diverse than My Own Little (actually, fairly large) Suburbia. I never thought I would get as much out of college as I did in my crazy-competitive-yet-nurturing high school. I thought I burned myself out in high school, but being at Rutgers thus far inspired me to keep pushing forward towards what I want and what I dream of doing. My teachers were some of my best friends and my classmates were the strongest people you will ever meet, and now I am proud to say that the list of people I look up to has grown exponentially since I've moved into Jameson. Last year, I didn't always want to go to school, but I always wanted to get the chance to interact with everyone, meeting new people and learning new things. Back in My Suburbia, I met so many people who came from different countries, who had the biggest passions for the obscure yet most admirable aspirations--my lunch tables were always of mixed ethnicities, my teachers all had strange former lives before secondary education, and I can't even begin to tell you how much pride we all had in being who we were, feeling comfortable enough to do so, encouraging each other to go all the way--to live with no regrets. I'm having the same experience at Rutgers, only multiplied tenfold.
New Brunswick is certainly not My Suburbia anymore, but I'm beginning to weave myself in and out the beautiful chaos the past month and a half has been. Even though most of Rutgers is composed of New Jerseyians, almost every town has its own eccentricities which people bring with them to New Brunswick. The Mixing Bowl of ideas, aspirations beyond my imagination, the challenges we all tackle, the tears and laughter we all share with each other as we interact is something that can't be explained, only experienced. I feel the legality my age gives me--being able to take care of myself completely, vote, make the best decisions for myself.
No chance for communication is ever a waste. Wherever you go, there's always someone who can help shape your life as you shape theirs. It's part of what makes me feel infinite. We all walk this Privilege Walk. We all set down steps for each other and we all hold each other up while on this journey. I've been feeling really nostalgic over everything I learned in high school--TRULY appreciating how much it defined who I am now and how it prepared me for Rutgers. I don't think I could have made a better choice for myself so I could mature, grateful that this is only the beginning, that my entire life I will always be changing and adjusting to change.
Seniors: please don't wish your year away--savor every moment and reach out if you need college advice. Begin to close this chapter of your life excited for what's to come.
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