“Yes Woman”
1
Posted by: Hopkins Insider | 
August 17 2009 | 
Comments (1)
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a seven-part series where we are featuring guest blogs written by incoming freshmen to the Class of 2013. We hope you enjoy these entries from students on the verge of beginning their Hopkins experience.
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Name: Alexandra Guttentag
Year: Class of 2013
Hometown: Palo Alto, CA
Intended Program of Study: Public Health (Social Science emphasis)
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I felt really, really good. I was sleeping in for the first time on a Monday morning in what felt like an eternity, and the bright sunlight had yet to spoil my dreams. I forgot that when natural causes cease to disturb me, my brother is always there. I was awaken by a thud on my shoulder, and rubbed my eyes to see my brother standing in my doorway. “You’ve got to read this book,” he said. “Just give it back as soon as you’re done.” And he walked away.
So here I was, lying in bed with this paperback book preventing me from sleeping. Yes Man, it was called. So, I picked it up, and didn’t put it down until I was done.
The book is an autobiographical story, narrated by Danny Wallace, who, one day, declares and revolves his life around being a “Yes Man.” This pretty much entails exactly what it sounds like. A “Yes Person” ostracizes the word “no,” from his or her vocabulary, and simply says “yes” to all invitations, all the time. Without any exceptions. Wallace spent an entire year saying yes to all the suggestions, invitations, and questions he was asked.
To all my Johns Hopkins peers: I have now deemed myself a Yes Woman. However, not in the same way that Daniel Wallace is in the novel, I’ve adjusted it a little bit. Unlike Daniel, I will not say yes to every random person on the street asking for a minute of my time, or half of my fortune. I will not say yes to lucrative ads on the sides of my Facebook or in the spam of my email. But, from here on out, and especially throughout my freshman year at Johns Hopkins, I will be a Yes Woman. This is a huge step, coming from me—a relatively shy, at-times-painfully awkward 18-and-a-half year old girl travelling all the way across the country to attend college. Me before this decision was someone who had several good friends, but without the drive to make more. Someone who liked doing fun things with friends, but someone who would also occasionally make excuses to stay inside alone on Friday nights.
When it came down to choosing a university to attend, I was torn between Hopkins and a much larger, more populous university. I had always been a student who enjoyed the crowds of other people—a somewhat reliable invisibility cloak when necessary. But as soon as I visited the Homewood campus at Hopkins, I was sold. Everywhere I went students smiled at me—really, they were smiling at me!—and laughed, argued, walked in silence with each other. I’d never experienced that sort of community on both a large scale and a small scale at the same time. I felt inclined to meet and talk to every friendly face that walked by me, but, of course, I was hindered by my shy tendencies. My decision to uptake this “Yes” state of mind was influenced by this experience at Hopkins—and I think it will give me the extra push I need to make Hopkins the type of school I never imagined myself at—smaller, with a sense of tight-knit community—but the type of school that I know that is right for me.
So challenge me. I dare you. Ask me to go to the dining hall with you. Ask me to play basketball with you (I’ll lose), or ask me to play a game of squash with you (I’ll win). Ask me to go crazy at a Hopkins sporting event with you (I’ll already be there). Ask me to help you study. For all the girls out there—ask me to straighten those rebellious strands that you can never reach on the back of your head. For the boys please, please ask me to tell you how that outfit looks. And for everyone at the place I hope to call my home for the next four years—ask me to be your friend.
By Admissions_Daniel, August 27, 2009 @ 9:51 PM
Alexandra: What a wonderful blog entry and a great perspective to start your freshman year with. I will make sure to DARE YOU. Best wishes for a smooth move-in.