Parting words

It may sound cheesy — I know it does — but I sincerely believe that it is true, which is why it kills me when I visit PrincetonFML.com and read post after post that denigrates this wonderful place: “I’m only a freshman but I can’t wait to get out of here, FML.” “I came here all idealistic, thinking that I would get educated and do something brilliant in life. Now all I wanna do is GTFO of here, FML.” A friend once said that it’s impossible to leave Princeton without learning something, but it is possible to leave unfulfilled. I think that is the most tragic thing that could happen to a Princeton student. If there’s one thing I’ve learned at Princeton — don’t worry, Mom and Dad, it’s not the only thing — it’s that everyone here has an amazing story to tell. You can’t walk 10 feet without running into people who have done or experienced something extraordinary; they wouldn’t be here if they hadn’t.

My first day on this campus, a sophomore walked up to me and said he was jealous of me because I still had four years ahead of me at Princeton. I’ve expressed that same sentiment verbatim to the classes below me ever since then. There are so many things to enjoy and love about Princeton, and I hope some of the PrincetonFML naysayers open their eyes a little to take notice. My time on this campus is regrettably at an end, and I don’t regret a single moment of it. I’m looking forward to the future, but there is so much about our university that I’m going to miss. You may have different thoughts, but this is my opinion column so deal with it.

I’m going to miss the friendships I’ve made here. I’ve met hundreds of people at Princeton and formed friendships with a few of them. Although some lasted a week, some lasted a year and some remain today, each friendship was memorable in some way. I’ll never forget that memorable and triumphant breakfast with Liz Kohansedgh ’10 the morning after my first Dean’s Date all-nighter freshman year. I remember going to cheer on Selcuk Arkun ’10 and Sar Medoff ’10 and their peewee basketball team at their tournament sophomore year (“It ain’t ova ’til it’s nova!”). Yes, Princeton is academically rigorous, but you shouldn’t regret a single moment spent supporting friends in a play, arch sing or intramural game.

I love the eating clubs. I’ve met so many people I never would have met if it weren’t for my membership in a club. Watching “Jeopardy” with clubmates after dinner at Cloister Inn is one of the highlights of my day. But it’s important to also get out of your comfort zone, so visit other clubs and meet new people! It’s not hard to walk up to a stranger and challenge him or her to a game of Beirut — that’s actually how I met one of my best friends.

(Sidenote about the eating clubs: I also love how my internal dictionary has a new primary entry for the word “bicker.”)

I’m by no means a morning person, but I’m actually going to miss early morning rows on a mist-covered Lake Carnegie. Competing for one of the top rowing programs in the country has been amazing, and I’m never going to get another chance to compete with the athletes of comparable caliber. Over the years I’ve won some and lost some — I gotta say I prefer winning.

I’m going to miss late-night sorties to Princeton’s rooftops with friends. It’s easy to get overwhelmed at Princeton, and it helps to sometimes change your point of view in the most literal way possible. The roofs of Little Hall’s tower, Blair Arch and McCosh Hall are some of the best places to view campus. Maybe it’s a little cornball, but there’s something special about smoking a cigar on top of a building overlooking the most beautiful college campus.

I feel like many Princeton students are a lot like the Heffalump from Winnie-the-Pooh: Their eyes are always so focused on one object that they don’t get the chance to observe or notice the world around them. Broaden your horizon and look around sometime; you go to Princeton! YLIG!