“Thinking” February 27, 2010

The campus is still quite snow-covered

When I was still considering applying to Swarthmore, someone– I don’t remember who, exactly– told me that one possible downside of Swat is that “Swatties are always ‘on,’ and it can be exhausting.” Whoever that person was, he or she was had a point. During first collection, President Chopp said that she had heard Swarthmore described as “a constant conversation,” and while it’s an incredibly interesting, stimulating conversation at times, sometimes it’s tiring to always be thinking of something intelligent to say.

But the vast majority of students here are the kind of people that are also happy to live in their heads, and can entertain themselves with their own ideas and internal debating. I love that about this place… most people here really take the time to carefully think about and refine their views on all kinds of issues. Unlike in high school and middle school when people mostly parroted the positions of their parents, or rebelled against them just to be “cool,” Swatties know what they’re talking about and they earnestly believe in it.I find that this generally contributes to an overall attitude of respect for each others’ opinions, even when we disagree with them.

I love just thinking, and I’m glad that it’s such a big part of life here. But I’ll admit that at times like this when midterms are looming and everyone is looking for internships and summer jobs, I could stand to think a little less. Careful strategizing and decision making are taking up way more of my mental space than I would like right now, and I’m wondering when I’ll get the time to catch up on reading, fill out applications (unfortunately, it seems applying for things never ends) and study Astronomy til I thoroughly understand it.

I’m halfway through the semester, and it’s hard to believe how quickly the time is passing. At times this week, I thought, maybe I need to spend just a bit less time thinking about what I’m going to do, and a little more just enjoying what I am doing. So tonight, I took a break from working and went with two friends to watch “The Princess and the Frog,” (which was adorable) and just sat back and enjoyed it. It can be hard to keep thinking for fun from turning to stressing, but seeking the balance between relaxation and contemplation is one of the best parts of college.

“Valentines” February 18, 2010

My window with decorations from me and nature

Ninjagram logo

16 Feet serenades my friend Iris

As I’m sure no one failed to notice, this past Sunday was St Valentine’s Day. We have our fair share of adorable couples here at Swarthmore, but we prefer to celebrate Valentine’s Day with dramatic awkwardness rather than declarations of love.

On Friday the 12th, ninjagrams were delivered. What’s a ninjagram, you ask? Swat has a tradition of selling cards for people to buy for their friends/significant others. The money goes to a charity, in this case, Haiti relief. The cards are then delivered the last class day before Valentine’s day, by students dressed up as ninjas who infiltrate classes or track people down in their dorms. Screaming, “NINJAGRAM!” these ninjas had more comedic value than stealth. I made a particularly indiscreet ninja, as my mask kept falling off and I felt oddly guilty interrupting class. Still, it was fun, and I very much enjoyed the fact that we got to discuss how to scare people with sweet notes instead of gossip and flirt. Only at Swarthmore, folks.

Saturday marked another beloved Swattie tradition, Screw Your Roommate. The idea is that each person finds a blind date for his or her room mate and arranges for them to meet in Sharples, wearing a costume that matches or goes with that of their date. Some people do Romeo and Juliet, Christine and the Phantom of the Opera, Mario and Luigi, you know, all the great couples of Western Civilization. As for me, my date and I were complimentary strands of DNA– I was Thymine and Guanine, he was Adenine and Cytosine. I think we had the best costume, but hey, I’m biased. Typically, the pairs then go off to a formal dance, but luckily for me, the boy I was set up with is similarly disinclined to dances. So after going to a Variety Show that benefitted a charity that donates malaria nets, we went our separate ways. I spent the night playing card games and eating popcorn with a few friends, and couldn’t have been happier.

On Sunday I got to both witness and experience my favorite festivity of the weekend: Sixteen Feet, Swarthmore’s only all male a capella group, serenaded students whose friends or loved ones hired them to do so. My oh-so-subtle friend Miriam had asked me days before what my favorite song of theirs was, and so I was treated to “The King of Wishful Thinking,” even though it’s a breakup song. (Several people asked me if this was Miriam’s attention-grabbing yet passive aggressive way of telling me she didn’t want to be friends any more.) At dinner, I witnessed two renditions of “Swarthmore Girl,” and one “I’ll Make Love to You,” which was sent by my friend Hannah to her roommate, Linda, in the hopes of watching her blush. It was great. For the first time, I can honestly say I really enjoyed Valentine’s Day.

Hope you all enjoyed the day and ate your weight in chocolate and conversation hearts!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo7_4VAaocw –16 feet singing Swarthmore Girl at a show last semester

“Snowy” February 10, 2010

The view of Parrish from a knee-high pile of snow on Parrish Beach

A puny little snowbaby

Okay, I know this isn’t “The Weather, in a Word,” but it seems silly to pretend I’ve done much this week besides frolic in the snow with my friends. I’ve gone sledding on trays we filched from Sharples, made snow angels and snow men, and slipped on ice and wiped out more than I’d like to admit.

Snow has a way of bringing out some major whimsy. Give me a day without precipitation, and I’m serious and focused on my work. But the moment the ground has so much as a dusting, I start pretending I’m in Narnia, and jumping into snowbanks, not caring that I’ll be cold and wet from the knees down. Unfortunately, my tendency to marvel at the weather often distracts me from the attention-consuming task of walking upright, and that’s why I frequently find myself lying flat on my back, laughing and assuring passersby that I’m fine.

No matter how much my butt (and pride) hurts after I fall, and how busy I get with schoolwork and the newspaper, and how inadequate 7 hours of sleep can seem when I first wake up, looking at how beautiful and perfect the campus looks always cheers me up. And when I’m not just walking around, but living, in such a gorgeous place, I can’t help wondering how I got lucky enough to end up here.

I love the snow.

“Faith” February 5, 2010

The poster board where we were encouraged to write our thoughts about religion

This was Religion and Spirituality week at Swarthmore, which meant there were a lot of talks and activities in order to give the college community a chance to reflect on our personal experiences with faith. I went to several of the events– partially because I find religion really intellectually fascinating, partially because I consider myself to be a reasonably devout Catholic, and partially because one of my good friends was in charge of planning the week.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this week. Despite our Quaker heritage, Swarthmore is largely a secular campus, and religion is rarely discussed, though I know several of my close friends are atheists or agnostics. I was somewhat concerned at first that this week would make an uncomfortable situation out of what I see as a deeply private matter.

Luckily, I was merely agonizing over yet another hypothetical situation that never came to pass. My fellow Swatties (characteristically) demonstrated a great deal of  sensitivity and maturity. While I can’t say that we spent much time discussing our religious differences informally, we did have a pretty interesting conversation during “Speak Out and Sundaes,” a meeting of people from all different spiritual backgrounds discussing our views on religion in life and in the Swarthmore community (and eating ice cream).

Discussing religion and spirituality is never exactly easy, because they’re such highly personal topics and it’s almost impossible to change someone’s mind in one conversation– and the merits of trying to change someone’s minds are highly debatable. Personally, I have a hard time talking about a topic that’s so subjective, especially when I can’t claim to have all the answers. And even though in that sense there was an awkwardness about the conversation, a big part of me found it really stimulating.

I listed the enthusiasm for exchanging ideas as one of my answers to the “Why Swarthmore?” part of the application. The concept of “life of the mind” that we like so much encompasses the “life of the soul,” after all. So though it sometimes felt unnatural, I’m glad I took part in the week. It gave me the opportunity to learn more about some of my friends, and introduced me to other members of the Swarthmore community. Faith is inherently challenging, but through discussions like the ones I took part in this week, it can be reconciled with the rest of life.