Duke is like unprotected sex: You were excited to get in, but sad that you came." I recently overheard that phrase in Bostock, of all places, and burst out laughing, piercing the eerie silence of the reading rooms. But afterwards, I started thinking about the nugget of truth embedded in the comparison.
I don't agree with the sentiment, but I know it nicely captures the feelings of many. But how does it happen? How is the rapturous excitement of acceptance so quickly replaced with despondency and discontent?
I remember getting MY acceptance letter in the mail and, despite the passing cars, dancing in the driveway. My booty-shaking aside, I imagine many people were equally excited. Yet, the afterglow of admission starts to dull soon after we come.
Is the disappointment really that great? Do we come here and realize that it's not as impressive as we thought? Or do we simply get settled in, take things for granted and find problems to bemoan because it gives us something to talk about? I'm inclined to go with the latter for a variety of reasons, the most vivid of which occurred a few weeks ago.
I was having dinner with my high school teacher and her mother, the two of them having surprised me with a chance visit. My teacher had attended Duke in the 1960s and her mother in the 1940s. I watched their eyes widen with amazement as I spoke about Merchants on Points, all the new buildings and everything else that has changed in the past few decades.
Seeing their genuine amazement at what Duke has become-the Duke we take for granted-I couldn't help but feel a sense of ingratitude. And it's not just that we don't appreciate it. Rather, it's that we have the nerve to constantly whimper about one thing or another. Something always bothers us.
The current whine of the week is the massacre we suffered when the administration robbed us of a reading period. Do you really think the University harbors some malicious hostility towards the student body? Anyone who read the story on Friday about why the reading period was cut short understands that there was no other option. Considering that we're "the best and the brightest," you'd think we would at least arm ourselves with some factual ammunition before going around campus bewailing our sorrows.
That's the irony behind most of our complaints: We think we know better than the administrators. Although that sometimes may be true, and while we should always question authority, let's get real!
The administration is made up of professionals, most of them top in their field, who know what they're doing. They're the ones that transformed Duke into a top school right behind HYP. Of course, as accomplished students, we all contribute, but make no mistake-it's their show.
Duke's constantly climbing rank is not a result of anything you or I did. So, the next time you want to whine about something they did that you, with your infinite years of wisdom and experience, disagree with, at least give them the benefit of the doubt.
Better yet, why whine at all? Regardless of what bothers you about Duke, there is so much to do here. There must be something you like. One of my best friends always says, "If you're eager to graduate because you can't wait to get out of Duke, you must have done something wrong during your time here."
It's hard to disagree with that conclusion. Given the plethora of opportunities, clubs, organizations and events-not to mention 6,400 ridiculously diverse students-how is it possible not to find some small enclave of happiness in the Gothic Wonderland?
Instead, so many of us groan about the bubble and [I took out 'bemoan'] how we can't wait to get out, for hardly more of a reason then simply to have something to talk about, something to make the time pass by. But rest assured, the time will pass fast enough. All of you who hate the bubble and can't wait to get out, take it from a senior-the end will come much sooner than it seems.
So, whether you're on your last semester, your last year, or, as is my case, your last column, I hope you've enjoyed it. After all, it will all end sooner or later. You might as well savor it while it's here.
Emin Hadziosmanovic is a Trinity senior. This is his final column.
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