You know how you see those cute commercials of disgustingly attractive, young white couples deciding to go on a last minute adventure? The one where they throw a dart on a map, or spin a globe and decide to go to their dream destination? Well, I did that with my college experience.
I’m going to be completely honest; I knew nothing about The New School when I first came here. I mean, I had a general idea, but the only reason I even applied was that of the notable alumni list on Wikipedia (shout out to Jonah Hill) and the location. I didn’t research any of the information, attend a college counselor meeting, or even visit the campus. I went against every college application rule, and it was the best decision I have ever made.
But that’s nothing like who I am. I like to know everything. I won’t even go on a Tinder date because I’m scared of the element of surprise. Yet somehow, I was okay with walking into a four-year agreement without knowing much beforehand. The New School is kind of like my first, great epic romance. We met on a whim, and the more I learned about it, the more I loved it. Granted, I’m paying them to stay with me, and I’ve pulled many all-nighters to make this relationship work, but that’s what love is right?
Like any relationship, I loved what I learned about The New School.
For example, I didn’t know our mascot was a narwhal named Gnarls. Or that I would be talking about Karl Marx in every class.
I didn’t know about the unspoken feud between Lang and Parsons, or about how iconic the UC sandwiches are. The fact that Rihanna was basically a student here never entered into my head.
Nobody told me that everyone at this school is a genius, a fashion prodigy, or the next great sociologist. I didn’t know I would walk into a culture with some of the sharpest intellectual minds. (Seriously, it’s like a dream scenario where you get to have dinner with five greatest people ever, dead or alive, every day). And that everyone would be so funny. I mean, seriously, I wish I could give everyone public access to TNS meme page (but I guess that’s what happens when you have a school full of dreadful artists and self-aware writers).
However, there’s always the but in relationships. The deal breaker. The one quality everyone has that some people will compulsively obsess over. I won’t lie, I doubted The New School, I doubted Gnarls the Narwhal, I doubted the UC sandwiches (I never doubted Rihanna because let’s be honest, who would?).
But most importantly, I doubted myself.
The thing is, you never get to see where the couple in the commercial travels to. For all we know, they could have gone to a foreign country where they don’t speak the language and their credit cards get put on hold while the bank investigates “potential fraud.” But, on the other hand, we also don’t know if they get their happy ending and if that spontaneous trip was what they needed to motivate their relationship, the fuel that they needed to add to the fire.
I don’t know how my relationship with The New School is going to end or how long it will be. I don’t know if I’ll end up heartbroken, or thinking that TNS was the one that got away, but I know it’s the love story I’ll tell my grandkids about. It’s the story of how I made an impulsive decision one day and learned to love.