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I am a rarity at ASU: a third-year student who has not yet ventured off-campus. I moved into my third residence hall a few weeks ago and, on most days, I love it. At times though, living with freshmen can be an adventure.
The other night, I’d had enough. It had been a long day and I just wanted to collapse into my extra-long twin and get some sleep.
Of course, I didn’t take into account the fact that my door is right next to the lobby, and for the first few weeks of class, the lobby is prime real estate for freshmen.
As the hours crept by and the sounds of laughter, viral videos, and people talking over each other escalated, I grew more and more agitated. I decided to ask them to quiet down.
After all, didn’t they know that I was on deadline for The Appalachian, had approximately 5,000,000 pages of reading to do, and had to be at my internship at 9 the next morning? Didn’t they know what it was like to have a little responsibility?
And then, when I walked out ready to set them straight, it hit me: no, they probably didn’t know. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
As I looked at them, spread out on uncomfortable couches and chairs, half of them proudly sporting ASU gear, I remembered what it was like to be a freshman hanging out in the lobby.
I remembered what it was like when campus seemed huge and I could get hopelessly lost just walking from Walker Hall to Rankin Science.
I remembered what it was like to feel like I needed 20 of my closest friends to visit the cafeteria, because there were just so many people there and they all lookedabout 10 years older than I did.
So much can happen in two short years, and I think a lot of us forget what it was like to be new to the university.
We forget, so we act annoyed and aloof. I know I’m guilty of it.
I’m learning, though, that if I can just let go of that annoyance – let go of my own stress and my own self-important ideas about my responsibilities – then those loud, nearly-nocturnal freshmen can remind me of something: one of the best years of my life, my own freshman year at ASU.
There was a time when we were the ones taking over every table in the cafeteria, or stumbling into class 15 minutes late because we thought we could wear flats in the mountains.
I think we should all take a deep breath and forgive the freshmen for the little nuisances they cause.
Even if they do leave Ramen in the communal sinks.
Meghan Frick, a junior journalism major from Columbia, S.C., is an intern lifestyles reporter. |
