During Family and Friends Weekend, the Heartsparkle Players gave a free performance in the Longhouse. My parents and I attended, and my “story” was the first one the group improvised. They portrayed my feelings perfectly, with the simple exclamation of: from twenty two to four thousand. People, that is.
My first year of college was spent participating in a “gap year” known as LEAPYEAR, which is accredited through Antioch. During the year I traveled to India for ten weeks, and to the Caribbean for 12. But the most significant part of the year was the time spent at the retreat center in Northern California. There I worked with around only 20 some other students, and about 10 staff and volunteers. The program really works students emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually in ways that very few other “colleges” could. We shared with each other very personal, very authentic pieces of ourselves, and as such, we became very close.
We ate together, worked together, hung out together, traveled together. We became a family. This was my first experience of college. I have never lived on a proper campus, and I have never been around so many other students. Walking around the campus, I am continually struck by how many people I see, and how few of them I will actually become close with and attend a program with.
I am slowly becoming used to it, but it’s still a shock to the system to be surrounded by so many people. However there is more than a silver lining to this cloud; each of these people are unique individuals whom I can get to know and by just talking to more and more of them, I can find a new family here.