"How to survive freshman year" guides are really dumb. You have just got to get in there and figure the thing out. And yet, when you are a freshman, you do want to read them occasionally - just in case you find something interesting that you hadn't thought of before.
Maybe you didn't know to bring sandals for the showers (if you didn't, go out and get some fast), or maybe you didn't know whether to bring shampoo and conditioner or a shampoo/conditioner. Maybe you are thinking of just bringing an all-in-one body wash that also cleans your hair. But maybe that just isn't for you. You might be more comfortable sticking to the bar of soap that got you into Tufts in the first place.
Even if you think people might be more impressed by an all-in-one body wash, believe me, they won't. They have been there and moved on, and you'll just be stuck in a big, lathery, botanical-laden mess. Just picture it: while you're trying to rinse all that fruity-smelling crap off your body, your friends next door will have already tapped the keg, and done body shots, and the hot chick will have already done the Varsity Blues whipped cream bikini, and everyone who was on wilderness will have been naked for over an hour, and then you'll walk in, pick up a cup of piss-warm, flat-as-a-board Beast Light, try to act like you're enjoying the taste of it while everyone else sucks it down like one of those Kool-Aid Squeeze-It bottles you used to get in your lunch in sixth grade ... but when you walk over to the first group to try and hop in the conversation, smelling like an apricot or jasmine blossom, you'll get the look of pity and shame, and then it's all over and you've got to spend the rest of your life at Tufts being a good student and studying eight hours in the library every night.
So aside from avoiding your twelfth wilderness streaking of the week, it doesn't really work out. Shit moves pretty quickly the first few weeks you get here, and I could quote Ferris Bueller right now, but at least a third of you listened to that line in your graduation speeches (ask around).
But don't worry too much about everything that happens early on. It gets easier and harder at the same time. The only thing you do need to worry about is voting. Probably by now you've had a half dozen people telling you to vote for Kerry, or against Bush. Bottom line is if you're eighteen and a U.S. citizen, you need to vote. If there's one thing Tufts hates more than white Republican men, it's someone who doesn't politically express him/herself.
Oh, by the way, if you don't drink, that's cool; there's a ton of people here who don't ever touch the stuff. And it works out pretty well when you've got a city two seconds away with actual things to do in it. Not to say that Tufts doesn't have dry time-killers on a Friday night; there's SOC, a cappella out the wazoo, and the film series usually has pretty decent movies every weekend.
If that isn't enough, I'd suggest taking up poker. However, I can't say that I like how huge it's become; I've been playing since I was fourteen and playing/studying Hold 'Em for the past two years, and now every Johnny Appleseed with a sawbuck in his pocket is going around thinking he's Amarillo Slim when his KoJack busts out American Airlines. Actually, now that I think about it, why should I complain? All the gumshoes out there looking to WSOP luck-suckers like Scott Fischman as role models can only mean more money in my pocket. So if it seems like this description has you pretty well pegged, then go right ahead and give me a call. I'll clean you out faster than the Pine Sol lady.
So.... Anybody else still hurting from Phish? A lot of people are wondering who will take their place on the jam circuit as the big name. One article in the Globe said String Cheese Incident. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against them, but they are not capable of being a really big-time name. Their sound comes too much from the Grateful Dead and their guitarist takes a lot of his style from Trey. At least no sensible fan of music can argue that Phish sounded like the Grateful Dead. Sure, they carried the same type of feel, of the off-center crowd, the never-the-same sets, and, of course, the jamming. But the Grateful Dead was folky, a little country, and more single-line melodic over major/minor/bluesy chords. Phish, on the other hand, spanned a more diverse musical playing field, drawing much of their sound from jazz-based, and often double melodic lines, but also had more of a rock background from which they could be influenced.
The problem is that the Grateful Dead has seen its glory days, while up until a few weeks ago, Phish was still experiencing its own, and so people don't realize how irreplaceable they are. As a friend of mine put it, "You won't see another band like Phish for a long, long time." And that's why I say to all the Phans out there who feel as though they are now floating around the music scene without a resting place, don't look to fill the void with another band. Pursue a number of different groups and don't limit yourself to bands like the Grateful Dead, String Cheese, moe, etc. Not to say that these groups are one in the same, but the first thing one thinks of when describing them is "jam band."
There is other music out there. I've been getting into the Talking Heads a lot recently, and Medeski, Martin, and Wood have begun to make frequent appearances in my car now as well. And for those who don't listen to Phish and think this is just a bunch of hippie crap ... well, even Rolling Stone declared them the most important band of the 90's, so you better recognize.
And finally, to close, be wary of AIM. It is large and in charge on the college scene, and you may find yourself updating it for every conceivable activity in your day, such as attending a particular class, showering, or even getting up to open a window. If you find that you change your away message more than 15 times a day, or that you spend more time talking to people online than you do in person, then ... I don't know; take up horseback riding or something. But remember to watch out for those man-eating jackrabbits and that killer cacti. And say hi to Brad and Melanie for me while you're out there.
Josh Cohn is a junior majoring in Music.
