-Lewis Carroll, Alice In Wonderland
So it is finally over. I am 1/4 of the way done with my college career. Looking back I can say it definitely had some ups, downs, ins and outs, and at the end of it all I would say it ended just the way it should.
I started my freshman year at Fordham University late in August of 2012. I finished freshman year at the University of Pittsburgh on April 24th of 2013.
Looking back I don't regret a single thing I did between the start of my freshman year and the end of it. All of those pieces add up to put me where I'm at right now. Since I could not be happier with where my life is I see no reason to regret anything that happened.
Fordham.
When I started at Fordham I felt out of place. The kids I kept meeting where from family's where both parents were lawyers or doctors. They came from posh New England towns and had houses in multiple places. They seemed to be everything my family wasn't.
Almost every morning I would wake up and feel sick to my stomach. I would drag myself to breakfast and scarf down some food before I went about the rest of my day. I had an 8:30 A.M. class every single day of my first semester. (Talk about a blessing in disguise.) If it wasn't for those 8:30 A.M. classes I might have never have met one of my best friends. I don't know how it started but one day I began sitting with Julia at breakfast. Through her I met Frances. Those two are thick as thieves and are two of the most awesome, genuine girls I have ever met. Getting breakfast soon became something to look forward to as opposed to something to rush through.
First semester I thought that Ground Floor was going to be the death of me. I thought the work was tedious and the class as a whole to be a bit overwhelming. I believe it was the second day of Ground Floor when I was introduced to my group mates. We were sorted into groups based on a lot of factors. I was the first person in the group because I was from the farthest away. Next was a girl and I think it might have been Caroline or Kaitlin. Then we needed a commuter and got Amar. Somehow it ended up being Amar, Kaitlin, Rachel, Caroline, and myself. I looked at this motley crew and saw four strangers. As the year went on we became closer. Hours spent in the library on our business plan truly made us one. We complemented each other and knew each other's strengths and weaknesses. Many a time Kaitlin and I would sit in the library after everyone left and talk about life. Thanks to Ground Floor I met two of my other best friends, Kaitlin and Caroline.
Kaitlin had a very positive experience with her roommate, much the opposite of my first roommate and myself. After Ground Floor one day I went to the caf with Kaitlin and Caroline where we met Kaitlin's roommate Lily and her other friend Emily. I can't quite explain Emily and Lily to you but they're a totally different breed. Emily especially. She has these idiosyncrasies that bring me to tears. Lily is another genuinely good person.
Between Julia, Frances, Kaitlin, Caroline, Lily, and Emily I made six great girl friends at Fordham.
One of my best guy friends at Fordham was introduced to me by a kid I met at orientation. His name is Peter. He is about an inch or two shorter than me and is a stereotypical looking Italian kid. Dark skin, dark hair, and some sort of Long Island accent (even though he's from Connecticut). Peter comes from a lot of money and is a very proud person. I've met both his parents and they seem like the type of people who would do anything for you if you needed it. I can't even explain to you the number of hours I spend in Peter's room my first semester. We watched a fair share of movies together and did a fair share of math homework too. (Movies came first though.)
The kid I met at orientation who introduced me to Peter isn't some no name. His name is Steve. He, like Peter and Emily, is from Connecticut. Steve was in my orientation group and we got to know each other through different group meetings and such. Basically we were the only two normal guys in our group so naturally we gravitated towards each other. The one thing I will always remember from Fordham was the last night of orientation when the incoming freshman had a candlelight vigil in front of Keating on Eddies. Whoever was doing the speaking said to look all around and remember those faces we saw, the faces of our classmates for the next four years. I looked around and when I think about it the only face I remember is Steve's. We lit each other's candles and it was a pretty cool moment. Steve really gets me because I think we're pretty similar. I remember the first time we ate together at the caf the first thing out of his mouth was about his girlfriend Rachael. He couldn't stop talking about her. Rachael is another friend I am thankful for. Her and Steve are great together. The fight like a married couple and it's fun to watch them go back and forth.
They said at orientation that maybe your roommate would end up being the best man in your wedding...whoever said that obviously hadn't roomed with my roommate. I'd have dressed a ram in a tuxedo before my roommate was in my wedding. But what they didn't say was that out of every seemingly negative situation during the year would come something positive.
Early classes: Julia and Frances
Ground Floor: Kailtin and Caroline (and subsequently Lily and Emily)
Orientation: Steve (and Peter and Rachael by association)
Fordham has so many silver linings it would be impossible for me to say that my time there was a waste. I miss those friends every single day. I made a decision though. I transferred back home.
Pitt.
I started at Pitt early in January following a shortened Christmas break. I wasn't sure what to expect from my new school. I knew for certain that two of my high school best friends would be there waiting for me though.
When I got to Pitt I moved all my stuff into my dorm room and met my new roommate for the first time. Greg Kojadinovich. A mouthful of a last name and I'm sure that when you read it on here you'll read it wrong. Greg would understand though, he can't pronounce anything he reads. When I first met Greg I could tell he was a straight shooter. He had been in basic training and AIT while I was at Fordham so this would be his first semester at college. He's from a small town called Phillipsburg which is around 30 minutes away from State College. Greg told me about his girlfriend back home, Lindsey, and about life in his small, rural town.
If I had to explain Greg I would use a few words to sum him up. One would be anxious. The kid was anxious about any test he takes. He would ask me questions about college and I could tell he was a no bullshit, get good grades type of kid. Another word I would use is loud. Greg loves to cause a scene and make other people feel uncomfortable. The third word I would use is good. Greg is a good person with solid morals.
As our semester together progressed we figured each other out. I learned not to ask him if I could use his stuff because he would always say "no" in a little shit way before saying "of course you can why do you even ask." I also learned that Greg can't pronounce a lot of words. For example, conscience was thought for most of the year to be pronounced con-science. Greg would always ask me for help revising his papers and he would help me with my calculus questions. We had a nice competition in psych which was fun. Greg, Jeff (another floor mate), and I all had the same intro to psychology class and we would have fun busting each other's balls when one did better than the other.
The most interaction Greg and I would have was late at night. When we turned the lights off and crawled into our respective beds is when we had our most intimate conversations. We talked about it all. About life, about school, about life back home, and more than anything else we talked about girls. I shared every secret I have with Greg and he told me some secrets he had never told anyone else. It's safe to say that in the course of about 4 months the Army kid from Phillipsburgh, PA became one of my closest friends. Something like a brother.
Spending all those nights with Greg in the room were nice. Come to think of it I already sort of miss having him around.
Aside from Greg I still had Dave and Jared. Two of my best friends from high school. I couldn't even begin to tell you how many hours we spent in their room playing X-box and just laughing our asses off. Jared, Dave, and I (along with Ty and Ethan) have some of the best inside jokes in the world. What would seem dumb to everyone else makes perfect sense to us. (Basically, we think we're the funniest people around.) Jared, Dave, Greg, and I along with some other guys we know played in an intramural soccer league every Wednesday. Intramurals gave me something to look forward to every single week.
I've met plenty of other great people at Pitt too. Through Jared's hockey team, Dave's frat, and the guys on my floor of Tower A there was never a shortage of things to do or people to hang with. People like Finger, Edge, Jeff, Rodrigo, Mady, Ashley, and Tocco.
During finals week I left the library with Mady, Dave, and Jared and crossed Forbes. For whatever reason Dave and Jared were behind Mady and I and when I turned around to see where Jared and Dave were I thought something to myself. I thought, "Those aren't my high school friends. The high school Dave and Jared are gone," I said to myself, "these are my best college friends. They aren't who they used to be and I'm new as well." You see the thing is, Jared and Dave were my best friends in high school, but when I look at them today I see two guys that will likely be in my wedding, not two guys from West A. They are not now who they once were. College has changed them both in one way or another.
Come to think of it college has changed us all in once way or another.
"I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then."
-Lewis Carroll, Alice In Wonderland
I have no urge to go back to yesterday.
However, I do have reasons and urges to go back to New York. I have about 9 of them. I have best friends at Pitt and Fordham. Those ties go deeper than that though. They have individual homes as well. They stretch to places like New Hampshire, New Jersey, Connecticut, Ohio, Maryland, and Colorado.
I want to take this time to thank some other people that made my first year at college bearable. They were the people there for me when I felt suffocated and trapped or lost and alone.
Aunt Maureen: thank you for the countless dinners, movies, bus rides, and for giving me a sense of home even if it wasn't my real one.
John: thank you for showing me the greatest city in the world and for giving me a place to stay when I felt I had nowhere.
Mr. and Mrs. Gannon: thank you for the encouraging words and lovely care packages when times were the toughest.
Mr. and Mrs. Niznik: thank you for birthday wishes, the care package at Fordham, and everything in between.
Jarrett: thank you for showing me how positive your experience was at Fordham and for any dinners or lunches you paid for.
All my friends: thank you for everything.
When I look back I ask myself could I have made Fordham work, the answer is certainly. When I ask myself if I regret leaving my answer is no. Do I think about my friends at Fordham still? I think about them every single day.
Life is full of things we could have coped with but chose not to. Just like it's filled with sacrifices we unconsciously make on a daily basis. We fight for things and we learn to give up from time to time. Giving up doesn't mean regressing or conceding though, sometimes giving up is the best way forward. I guess it's all about context.
There were times this year that I thought I was going crazy, but I never worried because as the Cheshire Cat says in Alice In Wonderland, "We're all mad here."
NP: Anna Sun- Walk the Moon
When I got to Pitt I moved all my stuff into my dorm room and met my new roommate for the first time. Greg Kojadinovich. A mouthful of a last name and I'm sure that when you read it on here you'll read it wrong. Greg would understand though, he can't pronounce anything he reads. When I first met Greg I could tell he was a straight shooter. He had been in basic training and AIT while I was at Fordham so this would be his first semester at college. He's from a small town called Phillipsburg which is around 30 minutes away from State College. Greg told me about his girlfriend back home, Lindsey, and about life in his small, rural town.
If I had to explain Greg I would use a few words to sum him up. One would be anxious. The kid was anxious about any test he takes. He would ask me questions about college and I could tell he was a no bullshit, get good grades type of kid. Another word I would use is loud. Greg loves to cause a scene and make other people feel uncomfortable. The third word I would use is good. Greg is a good person with solid morals.
As our semester together progressed we figured each other out. I learned not to ask him if I could use his stuff because he would always say "no" in a little shit way before saying "of course you can why do you even ask." I also learned that Greg can't pronounce a lot of words. For example, conscience was thought for most of the year to be pronounced con-science. Greg would always ask me for help revising his papers and he would help me with my calculus questions. We had a nice competition in psych which was fun. Greg, Jeff (another floor mate), and I all had the same intro to psychology class and we would have fun busting each other's balls when one did better than the other.
The most interaction Greg and I would have was late at night. When we turned the lights off and crawled into our respective beds is when we had our most intimate conversations. We talked about it all. About life, about school, about life back home, and more than anything else we talked about girls. I shared every secret I have with Greg and he told me some secrets he had never told anyone else. It's safe to say that in the course of about 4 months the Army kid from Phillipsburgh, PA became one of my closest friends. Something like a brother.
Spending all those nights with Greg in the room were nice. Come to think of it I already sort of miss having him around.
Aside from Greg I still had Dave and Jared. Two of my best friends from high school. I couldn't even begin to tell you how many hours we spent in their room playing X-box and just laughing our asses off. Jared, Dave, and I (along with Ty and Ethan) have some of the best inside jokes in the world. What would seem dumb to everyone else makes perfect sense to us. (Basically, we think we're the funniest people around.) Jared, Dave, Greg, and I along with some other guys we know played in an intramural soccer league every Wednesday. Intramurals gave me something to look forward to every single week.
I've met plenty of other great people at Pitt too. Through Jared's hockey team, Dave's frat, and the guys on my floor of Tower A there was never a shortage of things to do or people to hang with. People like Finger, Edge, Jeff, Rodrigo, Mady, Ashley, and Tocco.
During finals week I left the library with Mady, Dave, and Jared and crossed Forbes. For whatever reason Dave and Jared were behind Mady and I and when I turned around to see where Jared and Dave were I thought something to myself. I thought, "Those aren't my high school friends. The high school Dave and Jared are gone," I said to myself, "these are my best college friends. They aren't who they used to be and I'm new as well." You see the thing is, Jared and Dave were my best friends in high school, but when I look at them today I see two guys that will likely be in my wedding, not two guys from West A. They are not now who they once were. College has changed them both in one way or another.
Come to think of it college has changed us all in once way or another.
"I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then."
-Lewis Carroll, Alice In Wonderland
I have no urge to go back to yesterday.
However, I do have reasons and urges to go back to New York. I have about 9 of them. I have best friends at Pitt and Fordham. Those ties go deeper than that though. They have individual homes as well. They stretch to places like New Hampshire, New Jersey, Connecticut, Ohio, Maryland, and Colorado.
I want to take this time to thank some other people that made my first year at college bearable. They were the people there for me when I felt suffocated and trapped or lost and alone.
Aunt Maureen: thank you for the countless dinners, movies, bus rides, and for giving me a sense of home even if it wasn't my real one.
John: thank you for showing me the greatest city in the world and for giving me a place to stay when I felt I had nowhere.
Mr. and Mrs. Gannon: thank you for the encouraging words and lovely care packages when times were the toughest.
Mr. and Mrs. Niznik: thank you for birthday wishes, the care package at Fordham, and everything in between.
Jarrett: thank you for showing me how positive your experience was at Fordham and for any dinners or lunches you paid for.
All my friends: thank you for everything.
When I look back I ask myself could I have made Fordham work, the answer is certainly. When I ask myself if I regret leaving my answer is no. Do I think about my friends at Fordham still? I think about them every single day.
Life is full of things we could have coped with but chose not to. Just like it's filled with sacrifices we unconsciously make on a daily basis. We fight for things and we learn to give up from time to time. Giving up doesn't mean regressing or conceding though, sometimes giving up is the best way forward. I guess it's all about context.
There were times this year that I thought I was going crazy, but I never worried because as the Cheshire Cat says in Alice In Wonderland, "We're all mad here."
NP: Anna Sun- Walk the Moon
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