It hit me the other day: I’ve nearly completed my first two years at Denison. As relieved as I will be when this finals season comes to a close, the end of this semester will be bittersweet. Of course, college has its ups and downs, as the old cliche saying goes, but I’ve done my best to remember the “ups” during these last few weeks, especially as the end-of-year stress sets in. College is a time when core memories form, and it has been important to me to find space to reflect on such a pivotal time in my life. So, without further ado, here are some of my favorite memories from my time at Denison so far.
1. Arts Pre-Orientation
Denison has a program where first-year students can opt to go on a smaller, usually themed and often off-campus, orientation before the main student orientation begins. I went on an arts-based program with about twenty other students and three student advisors, and couldn’t be more thankful for the experience. While it wasn’t a perfect experience, it was a great opportunity to put myself out there (and believe me, you definitely have to when you’re going to improv workshops and salsa dance classes with people you’ve only just met). I met some of my best friends on the trip, and it catalyzed the majority of the friendships I have at Denison to this day.
2. Moving Dorms…
The first dorm I lived in was a traditional residence hall, housing roughly 300 students total. And in my mind, it was absolutely awful. I am not someone who thrives in a party environment, and the chaos that was that dorm was unsettling, to say the least. Also, as an introvert, sharing a living unit with so many other people felt more like living in a hotel than was personally comfortable. After five weeks of living there, a room opened up in the designated “quiet” dorm, all the way across campus and only housing about 25 first-year students in what used to be an old frat house. Within 24 hours of that room opening up, two of my friends from the arts orientation who lived in that dorm alerted me, and I started the process of moving rooms. The actual moving process was memorable for all the wrong reasons: I had 48 hours to get all my things out of my previous dorm and into the new one, and during that time I went away on an off-campus leadership retreat that I couldn’t get out of and managed to catch the flu. Still, the outcome was well worth it. I was welcomed with open arms, and made amazing friends in my building. I also had a huge room- the size of a triple as a double. Granted, my new roommate dropped out after the semester and we had to temporarily move dorms when the heating gave out in the middle of Ohio winter, but hey, I’ll get what I can take.
3. My Queer Gothic Class (AKA the Coolest English Class Ever)
My second semester of my freshman year, I took a class focusing on Gothic literature with a focus on queer aspects of the texts we read. It was a fascinating class, and my seminar paper on Le Fanu’s Carmilla remains one of my favorite pieces I’ve written in college so far. Despite being a huge biology and chemistry person, and being on a pre-med track, taking this class solidified my thought of adding an English major with a concentration in literature, and I haven’t looked back once. I’ve continued to take one English class a semester and always look forward to my time in Barney-Davis Hall (our English building). Taking this course reminded me that I will always have a home in the humanities, and on a more practical level made me realize how passionate I am about Gothic literature. I often read works in and write on works in this genre, and attribute that hobby to this class.
4. My first Renaissance Faire!
Nothing says “nerd” like going to a Renaissance Faire in full costume with a gaming organization on campus. Despite being a self-proclaimed medieval history and fantasy nerd all the way through high school, I never went to a ren faire until last October, I think largely due to the worry that I might be judged. It was a blast! It plunged me right back into my love of fantasy stories, and I may or may not already be planning my outfits and schedules for the next ren faire season.
5. Being a Teaching Assistant for the First Time
At the end of my freshman year, I asked my biology professor if she had any interest in two things: one, being my academic advisor, and two, allowing me to act as her teaching assistant for an introductory biology course the following semester. Some might regard being a TA as just an average college job, but it made me realize how much I enjoy teaching, tutoring, and being in the lab. I always looked forward to Tuesday mornings and Friday afternoons, when I had my drop-in hours and lab periods, respectively. I’m TAing for the same course, but with a different professor, this semester, and will be TAing with my academic advisor for comparative physiology next semester. I’m super grateful to have found such a fulfilling job here on campus, and am glad that I bit the bullet and asked her about if it would be an option!
6. A Midsummer Night’s Chaos
After taking my first year mostly off from theatre, choir, and piano, I started to get back into the performing arts this year. And what better way to get back involved than by auditioning for and landing a part in our independent theatre organization’s outdoor production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It had a great Shakespeare in the park vibe to it- complete with a bright green pop up tent and a bush acting as our backstage, wind nearly blowing all our props into the nearby pond, and geese honking at inopportune times during our performance. Regardless, it was so much fun, and everyone was super supportive and enthusiastic. It ended up being a great show, despite the risk factors of the outdoors.