I remember how nervous I was as a freshman four years ago. “How the hell am I going to find Medesy Hall by myself,” I wondered. I avoided the café unless I was invited by one of my new acquaintances. When I did go to the cafeteria I’d eat a lot of ice cream and not much of anything else.
I made a lot of mistakes that year.
I danced half-naked in the fountain in front of the college center. Back then it was much smaller and there were rocks at the bottom.
I got really drunk and then bought a McFlurry from McDonalds and ended up throwing up right in front of my RA’s door. People thought I had done it on purpose to spite her, and someone ended up puking in front of her door every weekend.
To be fair, I guess I did a lot of things right that year. I got involved with this newspaper and found my passion – writing. I made real friends, friends that I consider closer than family. I listened to my professors and I challenged myself.
By my sophomore year I had realized a few things. I was allergic to marijuana (I found out because my roommates had made ‘brownies’ and hadn’t told me all of the ingredients). And I found out that I wanted to be as involved in this institution as possible.
I joined Associated Student Government as a senator. And I was writing for the Crite.
Everyone knows college teaches more than just academics. I learned to live while I was here. I learned that school is important and I must do well. But I also tried new things. My comfort zone expanded.
By junior year,  I had created a “family” here. When I was down and needed counseling, I went to Fran or Fau in John Marshall’s office. They were my moms-away-from-mom. As for father figures, their names are Tucci, Multz, Evers, Flenniken and Sandstrom. Professors that challenged me, pushed me, and believed in me even when I didn’t. Several of them cornered me and told me that I should apply to be the Crite Editor-in-Chief. I said no. They won. I applied and  got the job.
As a senior I was leading this newspaper, working in a hall full of 180 freshmen, and finding excuses not to eat in the cafeteria. I tried talking my best friend Sarah into doing more crazy things with me. We had crashed Fruita high school’s prom the year before, and she stubbornly refused to do it again. My friend Kyle and I joked about running the school, and we did a pretty good job leading the campus media.
This will be my last column in this paper. I must say goodbye. Rather than talk about what it takes to succeed at college, I wanted you to know what it takes to actuallylive the college experience.
If I could go back and talk to my freshman self, I’d say, “This place will change you. It will be hard. You will cry. You will laugh. But make sure that you don’t take it for granted. Four years goes by so fast. Make mistakes and learn from them. Get involved as much as you can, because you never know where you will find the friends of a lifetime.
And don’t drink Sailor Jerry’s and then dance in the fountain.”
u
cmartine@mesastate.edu