My friends at Tulane

This year I think I’ve made a lot of influential friends here at Tulane. And no, I’m not just talking about the other people my age in my life, the people with whom I eat, go out, and waste time. I’m talking about the adults here at Tulane– I think I’ve formed some very interesting friendships through which I have learned a lot.

First, I’ve made friends with people in HRL, or the housing and res life office. One person I truly admire is actually leaving us next year to go to the illustrious Columbia University in NYC for his studies. He was an advisor for Residence Hall Association, which is the student body representing the various dorms on campus. This past year I was on the eboard for that, and I got to know this guy- Caleb. He plays in a band, he has long hair, he’s always smiling, and always encouraged us. At the last second when I decided I wanted to apply for RA, he wrote me a recommendation right away. He has always been there to steer our thoughts in the right direction and advise us even on personal matters. I’m really going to miss him.

I recently found out that I may be an RA next year, and this holds a lot of interesting new opportunities for me. As someone told me, it is the primary leadership role here at Tulane, and I’m truly thrilled about the idea of it. I also received another position- Program Coordinator for the Office of Multicultural Affairs, a position I would have to turn down for RA but appreciated receiving nonetheless. I do plan on being involved with OMA next year regardless. I’ve made friends with some amazing people in that office and they have all been so warm and understanding, advising me on what to do in the case that I did get the RA job with only my best interests in mind.

I love my friends here at Tulane- you’re about to see a picture of my friend Karthik whom I absolutely adore. He’s a goofy kid, but when you need him, he’s there. I love hanging out with him and the others, watching tv, studying, and strategically doing homework. But its my adult friends here at Tulane that have really influenced my last year. I’ve learned a lot from the great people surrounding me and I’m sure I still have a lot to learn from them.

Only here at Tulane did I get the opportunity to get so close to all these people. Because our school is small, it does center around the individual more than the whole student body. People like Caleb and the guys in the Office of Multicultural Affairs are there to get to know me and support me as my own person, rather than a representative of students at Tulane. This one -on-one interaction leads to friendships that I think are undervalued by many when considering choosing a college. Tulane University employees are not afraid to cross the bounds between staff and students and reach out to people like me.

And so I learned that friends come in all flavors- different backgrounds, different races, and even extremely different ages!

Work, Work, and more Work

The last few weeks have been CRAZY here at Tulane.

I’ve had papers due, exams, lab exams, as well as finals approaching. It feels like everything is sort of coming to a close all at once, and every professor wants to squeeze everything out of the time they have left with us. This isn’t the actual case, of course, but it certainly feels like it! If you’re a college student who doesn’t plan too far in advance, you’ll find impending deadlines to be no fun at all. It’s just so much work- an orgo test, a Robert Frost paper, orgo final, physics final, brain and behavior exam, final papers . . . these are only SOME of the things I have to do in the next few weeks.

But after the next two weeks, finals will start, and the semester will be over. Summer will begin . . .and for most of us, that means an internship, a summer job, summer classes, or studying for the MCAT.

annnnd the hard work will begin once again . . . .

I guess this is just part of getting older. I know my parents don’t get a long 3 months off from life basically. I know they don’t get to plan their work day from 11 to 3. I know that it will happen to me too someday soon . . . but I’m not ready for it just yet! I sometimes wish I was still a freshman, because their fun years of finding themselves are still stretched out ahead of them.

But it’s been a fun journey . . .

Only at Tulane.