Student Activities Blogs

Meg Carley

Something New

These past few weeks have been a time of change and excitement for many of us. There was the presidential election, registering for spring classes, and let’s not forget, the start of a new basketball season. Being a senior, this change and excitement comes along with a sense of finality. Registering for classes for the last time; entering the student lottery for the last time; and to my parents delight, only having one more semester payment. While it could be sad that some aspects of my college career are slowly coming to an end, I choose to look on the brighter side of things. Yes, there are lots of changes happening right now but that also means there’s something new on the horizon which gives me something to look forward to.

Our country recently had a major change. That’s right; just a few weeks ago we elected a new president. More importantly, we elected a president, who is a symbol of change for the world, our country, and to a greater degree, the American youth. I’m not one to openly express my political views, nor do I have a strong connection to any one party, but I can say that it’s been a long time since this country’s youth, especially college students, have been so captivated by a politician. Barack Obama has given many people something to believe in and that sort of change and faith in something new can’t be ignored.

A couple weeks ago I led an alternative break to New York City where my fellow director, Alex Dressler, staff person Miguel Colon, and eleven other participants learned about HIV/AIDS. It was a weekend of new experiences which included meeting someone who is HIV positive and has been for several years now; handing out goody bags filled with ways to protect yourself from HIV/AIDS to strangers on the street; and making tuna melts on a stove that looked like it was from 1968. It was an interesting weekend to say the least. I had a great time leading this trip and everyone else involved made my job easy. While this is my last trip as a trip director, I think I left on a great note and I can’t wait to see the success of my other trip directors over the course of the year.

This semester will be coming to a close soon and that will leave me with just one semester to go. The winter break has the potential for being bittersweet because while it should be fun it will also be my last one. Sigh. On the bright side, next year I might not have an enormously long winter break but I could be in another state or even another country! The possibilities are unlimited. For now, my advice to all seniors is to just live your life as T.I. would say.