With finals coming up, I’ve been thinking a lot about all the things I have learned this past year, not just academically, but socially as well. Here are the top 10 non-scholarly things Hobart and William Smith Colleges has taught me.
1. What a “darty” is and what “Beef” means
I mean, I’m not a complete loser, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t take me several weeks to figure out what each of these phrases meant. (For other losers like me: a “darty” is a “day-party” and “beef” is what everyone lovingly calls the local bar).
2. That Shirley is everyone’s favorite person
I remember first walking into SAGA and meeting Shirley at the front desk. I think it took her just about two weeks to remember all of my friends’ names. To think she does that with every student on campus! What a champ.
3. How far I can stretch the limits of sleep deprivation
A fact of college life is that sleep just isn’t always a priority! It’s common protocol to stay up late during the week to finish assignments, and have fun on the weekends. Who really needs 7 hours a night anyway?
4. That “Thirsty-Thursdays” are a legitimate thing
Never before college had it occurred to me that Thursday could be considered part of the weekend too. I’m still not quite convinced, but Thirsty-Thursdays are definitely a well-accepted tradition at the colleges!
5. That sailing is an actual sport
I feel really awful admitting this, but sailing just wasn’t something I saw a lot growing up in landlocked rural upstate New York! I see now how hardcore sailing can actually be, and feel kind of gypped having missed out on my chance to be a sailor.
6. That everyone here is from “just outside of Boston”
I exaggerate obviously, but I’m not sure by how much. It also doesn’t help that everyone from Boston just loves to talk about it. There’s a lot of Boston pride here at HWS.
7. That the campus shuttle is my best friend
I remember being too shy to take the shuttle for the first few weeks of school. Such a mistake! Now, I constantly take advantage of the shuttle to make late night Wegmans and ice cream runs. It’s fantastic!
8. How small HWS really is
I knew I wanted a small school during the college search process because I wanted small class sizes. However, I didn’t consider the fact that this means small social circles too. Within the first 2 weeks of classes I was finding out that my some of my friends knew my other friends before I even introduced them! I guess it would just be nice to have breakfast in SAGA without having to say hi to several dozen people.
9. How terrible class registration is
I’ve watched my friends walk away from registration with zero classes in their carts – the process truly is war. Getting into all your classes is very difficult during your first year, and even more difficult when you want to take popular classes, like Media and Society or Psychology.
10. How much I love it here
I was always excited to come to HWS but never in a million years would I have been able to guess how happy I am. I love my classes, my friends, and my school, and that’s all thanks to our campus’s unique and friendly environment.