And so it begins, Class of 2012 – that yearly ritual wherein scores of fresh-faced students descend upon our prized institution of higher learning. While you brace yourselves against the onslaught of new people and new places, a barrage of work and extracurriculars does its best to drive you insane.
We won't lie to you. We're actually kind of jealous.
Every year, those of us nearing graduation plead with you to enjoy your time here because it will be over so very quickly. You won't listen to us, of course – and why should you? Your future stretches out luxuriously before you toward an infinite horizon full of parties and papers and clandestine capers, while ours hold the promise of exciting prospects such as health insurance and the federal income tax.
Yes, you'll scoff at our well-meaning but mystifying rants, quickly identifying us as the kind of fanatical perpetual students with whom you have nothing in common and who you will never, ever become. Our ramblings don't concern you; you've got four whole years left (five or six if you're especially lucky or inept), and the fun is just beginning.
But four years from now this editorial will seem surprisingly prescient, and you (yes, even you) will take to buttonholing bewildered freshmen on Professors Row and screaming at them that the end is nigh.
"Take a class on something that you know nothing about!" you'll say.
"Don't obsess about your grades!" you'll yell.
"Starting a Fight Club is more fun as a concept than as a reality!" you'll shout, possibly through broken teeth and a shattered jaw.
And while you may not form such a club, you will still find plenty of unusual things to enjoy. In an editorial we printed in this issue two years ago, we at the Daily compassionately wrote that "your parents will forgive you for the C's you received first semester, as all of our parents once did (with the exception of the parents of my roommate, who is still coasting at a cool 4.0. If you see him, congratulate him)."
Several months later, while attending a Tufts-sponsored program in Talloires, France, this brilliant engineer roommate received his very own C from a class entitled "Flowers of the Alps," which consisted primarily of nature walks and botanical identification. He is currently prouder of that C than any A on his transcript. You will talk about these things happily as "just part of the college experience," and you will be absolutely right. The experiences you have here will, in the parlance of the brochure that drips with nostalgia, last you a lifetime.
But these experiences don't just happen by themselves. You have a long road ahead of you, but it will be a singularly unremarkable one if you refuse to take advantage of the possibilities it offers.
All this is not to say that you must dash around racking up "experiences" as quickly as possible. There is certainly something to be said for moderation (although what that "something" is temporarily escapes us), and a rabid pursuit of story-worthy events is likely to make you unpopular with your peers, as well as vaguely creepy. There will be plenty of moments for you to enjoy while you're here.
So please excuse our panicked ranting about experiences and moments. For those of us who are on our way out, they went by all too quickly.
Welcome to Tufts. You are very, very lucky.
