2008 Woodie Awards
I don't want this to end
Senior column
By: Mike Van Pelt
Issue date: 4/23/07 Section: Columns
Last update: 4/23/07 at 7:41 AM EST
Last update: 4/23/07 at 7:41 AM EST
- Page 1 of 2 next >
I never thought it would be so hard to write my senior column. I figured I'd have so much to say, so much wisdom to impart, so many stories to tell and so many experiences to share.
And I do have all those things.
But still as I sat down to write this, I found myself staring at a blank page for hours. I consulted friends and looked through old pictures, but I still could not seem to figure out how to express in words what the last four years have meant to me.
And then it occurred to me that maybe there was a reason why.
Maybe it was the notion of having to write my senior column that was getting to me. It symbolized the end. It means I've reached the end of my time at The Chronicle, the end of my time in Durham and, sadly, the end of my college years.
I'm not ready for this all to end.
When I finished high school, I left behind the greatest group of friends any kid could ask for growing up. We had been through everything together from kindergarten on.
And while moving on to college was a bittersweet transition, I always knew that when I returned home for breaks we would get together and do the same things we had always done.
But I won't have that same luxury with my Duke friends. There won't be Winter Breaks when we all reunite in Durham and relive our past experiences. Once we leave here, there won't be one place that we all call home. Instead we'll be working and going to school in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and other cities across the country and around the world.
A friend recently said to me, "We'll never all be together again."
As much as I hope he's wrong, it's frightening to think that he might be right. At the very least, we'll never be together like this again-as carefree college students, enjoying the freedoms of college life and everything that Duke has to offer.
I'll never again eat a burrito or quesadilla at Cosmic after a long night of drinking with friends at Sati's. I'll never again play stickball and host barbecues with fraternity brothers in Few Quad. And I'll never again sit around 301 Flowers with fellow Chronicle editors doing absolutely nothing-while having a great time doing it-until ungodly hours of the morning.
And I do have all those things.
But still as I sat down to write this, I found myself staring at a blank page for hours. I consulted friends and looked through old pictures, but I still could not seem to figure out how to express in words what the last four years have meant to me.
And then it occurred to me that maybe there was a reason why.
Maybe it was the notion of having to write my senior column that was getting to me. It symbolized the end. It means I've reached the end of my time at The Chronicle, the end of my time in Durham and, sadly, the end of my college years.
I'm not ready for this all to end.
When I finished high school, I left behind the greatest group of friends any kid could ask for growing up. We had been through everything together from kindergarten on.
And while moving on to college was a bittersweet transition, I always knew that when I returned home for breaks we would get together and do the same things we had always done.
But I won't have that same luxury with my Duke friends. There won't be Winter Breaks when we all reunite in Durham and relive our past experiences. Once we leave here, there won't be one place that we all call home. Instead we'll be working and going to school in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and other cities across the country and around the world.
A friend recently said to me, "We'll never all be together again."
As much as I hope he's wrong, it's frightening to think that he might be right. At the very least, we'll never be together like this again-as carefree college students, enjoying the freedoms of college life and everything that Duke has to offer.
I'll never again eat a burrito or quesadilla at Cosmic after a long night of drinking with friends at Sati's. I'll never again play stickball and host barbecues with fraternity brothers in Few Quad. And I'll never again sit around 301 Flowers with fellow Chronicle editors doing absolutely nothing-while having a great time doing it-until ungodly hours of the morning.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Bass
posted 4/23/07 @ 9:35 AM EST
Lord knows college was sweet, but I would never want to go back. Not only because I'm afraid of ruining the experiences by somehow doing them differently the second time around, but because you have to keep looking forward in order to have something sweet to look back on later. (Continued…)
Kaiser Soze
posted 4/23/07 @ 11:48 AM EST
"ruining the experiences by somehow doing them differently the second time around"
You mean that after inhereting the clarity of hindsight, we would STILL want to room up with a fat mess for our last semester at Duke? LOL!!
SKINNY CHICKS ARE JUST HOTTER. (Continued…)
Post a Comment