When I first introduce myself to someone—whether it is while yelling above music at a party or awkwardly mentioning my name to a classmate I’ve sat next to for a couple of weeks—one of the first questions asked is, “What school are you in?” I usually blush and mumble “CGS,” and after the initial “What?” and my reluctant louder confirmation of the school, there is the inevitable, “Oh… and how is that?”
At first, I had a strongly worded answer to this question. When I received my acceptance letter to Boston University, I was ecstatic, yet I had no idea what the College of General Studies was. All I knew was that it was not in any way pertaining to or even rhyming with the name of the college I profusely desired to be in: Sargent. So I sent letters, made phone calls, and pleaded “Why me?” while complaining to anyone who proposed the question, “How is that?”
Then, my freshmen year kicked into high gear; with a lighter work load of such general classes, I was able to pledge the community service sorority on campus, become a leader in Challah for Hunger, run for a Hillel Board position, participate in a fellowship, join a Beta Test Team for an iPhone App, write for the marvelous Her Campus online magazine, and… Well, I won’t bore you with everything, but I developed a new perspective on CGS. For me, the College of General Studies became a unique way to become comfortably situated on campus, just dipping my toes into the arduous academic aspect of college, while being able to dive into everything else our large school and city had to offer.
And then, something life-changing happened. I had applied to go abroad in the fall of my sophomore year, and I was picked—from over two hundred applicants—to be shipped off to London. My hard work had paid off. Although I was a bit heated about still being unable to take any specific Sargent classes due to the CGS curriculum, some of my steam was released, and I was cooling down. I spent four months (not enough in my opinion) traveling to nine different cities in Europe, and having the most maturing experience of my life. I owe these experiences to CGS for giving me that opportunity, and this is one of the main reasons why I can never fully resent “Crayon, Glue, and Scissors,” nor can I ever refer to this college by that name again (even though my Natural Science class literally cut and pasted timelines during a whole “lab period” one time… irrelevant).
This is my last semester in CGS, and as ready as I am to jump into the arms of Sargent and wave CGS’s weird obsession with communism goodbye, I feel oddly saddened. I dedicated two years of my life to this school. I was placed in small classes that created intimate environments in which I was able to bond with my professors on levels unparalleled. I have developed friendships with students who are now jumping into the arms of their own futures, and I wonder if I would have met these thoughtful classmates otherwise. And I am watching freshmen trickle into this college, being asked how it is, and sighing, shrugging, laughing, groaning—I wonder how they will respond in a year.