Sagehen Country
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
I miss college. Not the studying, stress, or pressures of figuring out a career path, but the social aspects. I think Asian parents do a great disservice when they tell their kids that all that matters in college is studying. Socialization is huge. I can’t say I’ve learned all the social skills I need to succeed in life, but I learned a lot about communciation, conflict, and relationships in college.
Dave and I dropped by our old campus Pomona College while driving back from the Inland Empire last weekend. We like to stop by when we can to walk around and reminisce. This time it was the weekend before the start of classes, and there were students walking around everywhere. We snuck into the dorm where we both got our start, Mudd-Blaisdell. It used to be a somewhat decrepit yet grand building. It’s still grand, but a lot more sterile since they redid the inside – no longer pink (so sad) but hospital-like grey and teal. At least there’s air conditioning now.
The biggest shock was the discovery that Gibson Hall, the only computer lab in freshman-dominated south campus, had been converted into rooms. These rooms do not have much privacy; the tall French-style window-doors were left intact, offering unhindered views inside. Dave wondered why they would get rid of the computers. I think it’s because everyone probably has a laptop.
We showed each other our freshman year rooms. My hall was in the exact same location as his, except one floor higher. I think we pretty much fit in and the students didn’t think we were trespassing (though we sorta were), though they looked pretty young to me. There was a crackling energy about the way they flung open doors and filed out in groups into the night, chattering away about who they still needed to fetch or commenting on each others’ fashion choices.
It made me think of how I felt during the earlier years at Pomona. The possibilities were endless – what I could learn, who I could meet, what I could become… It was such a free time. So much had not yet been decided.
While Pomona still uses tables in its website design (the horror ), at least its Coop store is now online. Dave plans to get the astonishingly low-priced fitted baseball cap with his favorite school logo:
I want a replacement for my “dorkbird” shirt but they don’t make it anymore. =(
Isn’t he cute?
safe to say i have no intentions in going back to visit my dorm room!
Haha…of course not. You’d go back to Mudd to admire the architecture. =P
Wow, you’ve gone further than any one else I’ve known in visiting their alma mater with the dorm visits and all. Did you tailgate into your dorm?
Then again, I don’t think anyone has visited our high school four or five times like I did at the beginning.
We waited outside two exit doors for people to leave so we could sneak in when they opened the door. That must have looked kinda weird but luckily no campus security was around, haha.
I went back to our high school about two times, I remember. Once I sat in on Latin class and the teacher made me translate some lines – I think you were there too, right?
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