Many of you are out living your own lives.
You have seen frequent but random guys and girls in multi-colored tank tops bombarding your billboards with flyers. You let them inside your dorm with one push of a hand but it won’t be that easy to get their messages out of your minds.
Rush.
Promises of grandeur as you break apart your friendships to make room for buzzed nights in dim rooms. Wishes of making new life-long friends as you know that you won't be living with your quarter-long friends anymore. Amp up your girl/guy-flirting everyone, you're going to need it now as you pass by newly-created strangers in your hallways, glancing at once-best friends at the dinner table, moving your eyes away to the ground to avoid having a strained conversation centered around one question:
"Where are you thinking of living next year?"
Some are choosing to commit their evenings for the next few weeks for the annual rush season. Some will be speed-dating several houses, cooking dinners or hashing dishes while searching for their match of love for pre-assigning. Some will be in desperate search for their draw groups, hesitantly saying no to some while enthusiastically saying yes to a few. Some will be lost in this hurdle, and it’s our duty to recognize those individuals with comfort and a welcoming community.
I am speaking to all of these microcosms - all of you spring quarter freshman here on campus.
As the sun becomes warmer and the days feel shorter as we near the end of this journey, let’s not forget about the people who we started out with. Those faces you ran into during move-in day with an eagerness for friends. Those memories racing through the mazes of palm trees and tourists to get into Palo Alto for warm and gooey cookies at Cream. Those never-ending nights of laughter provided by Spotify, Trader Joe’s wine, and great conversations.
Let’s not forget about the team you have built - the people down the hall, those downstairs, upstairs, in that student group with those meetings you once went to, in that one hall in that one dorm nearby…they have all accompanied you during this rollercoaster. Although we must realize that they won’t always be with you in the end, we shouldn’t end up lost as others are drifting apart.
So to you all, I have a request.
GO make memories that won’t make you cherish the past, but to cherish the present. GO lay out beside the pool this afternoon with your hall-mates as a study break. GO and Facebook message that one friend to go outside and soak in the California sunshine with a towel, snacks, and good company. GO and run upstairs to that one person and invite them to that one event tonight. GO.
Many of you are out living your own lives, but you shouldn’t do it alone in this world. You should never go through this journey alone.
Let’s not forget about your team.
