Emily Timmerman
We’re about to head home, and as I look back on my four years here in Wooster, Ohio, I have a few pieces of advice for those who will be returning to campus in the fall for another year — nothing too preachy (I hope) but some things I wish I had considered earlier.
1. Embrace the town that we live in. Yes, it may be small and rural, but you are only here for four years, and it’s worth making the most of that time. Go to the Parlor for breakfast on a Saturday morning, get Coccia House pizza before you leave (but make sure you call in your order no later than 5 p.m. if ordering on a Friday). Hartzlers has great ice cream and Lerch’s has delicious doughnuts. Food aside, the Wayne County Fair is held every fall in the beginning of September — rides, 4-H projects, demolition derby and animal showings abound.
2. Be it here on campus or somewhere else entirely (say, New Orleans), take a summer to live with friends from College without the stress of papers and projects. I lived with five Wooster friends the summer after my junior year and it was the best summer.
3. Love your I.S. topic. It makes all the difference. The I.S. process in its entirety is like giving birth; carrying the I.S. “baby” full term, if you don’t want it, is going to be emotional and unpleasant for everyone around you. Also, it’s important to realize that the baby is not going to look like what you thought it would at the beginning. Part of the process, I swear, is learning to eventually let the project go whether it is exactly what you want it to be or not.
4. Speak up. The Administration gains nothing by ignoring the requests and needs of the student body. We commonly view them as our opposition, and yet what it comes down to is communication. In the future, you will have to be able to articulate your opinions, frustrations and concerns with employers, and you may as well practice with those in charge of us here now.
Looking back on it now, college has been like the summer camp that we all wished we could have gone to when we were younger. It’s camp with no parents, few rules, endless amounts of ice cream at every meal, friends on friends and alcohol. It’s a crazy and fantastic time. Never again will we get the opportunity to pay so much money to be in class during the week and then be irresponsible on the weekends.
Yes, Lowry might have more bad days than good days, but they cook for us, and quesadilla Monday at Kitt is awesome. We might not have ever had a good room lottery number, but we always got a room (eventually). Everything in retrospect looks better than it was in reality, but I know that I really will miss this place and the people that I have met here after I leave. Love your remaining time in Wooster and I wish you all of the best.