Verbal Snippets & Snapshots

Commencement is drawing closer, and while I’m currently planning to stay in Baltimore while my apartment’s lease lasts until the middle of the summer, it’s not yet certain whether I’ll stay in Baltimore or live elsewhere to work next year. (I’m still in the middle of the job application process, and nothing has been finalized yet as far as employment plans go.) Knowing that fact, I’ve found myself viewing different aspects of Hopkins as though my days left are numbered–because they may very well be. There are many things about Hopkins that plenty of us students here love. Nonetheless, attending college can be a very personal experience, and so leaving Hopkins still feels like a personal goodbye–even though many students say farewell to Hopkins every year. Thus, while quite a few things on this list are somewhat universal to the Hopkins undergraduate experience, I still find them special enough that I know I’ll miss them upon leaving Baltimore.

The Beauty of the Homewood Campus: Whether it’s autumn, winter, spring, or summer, the Homewood campus looks–and sometimes feels–like a large park in the middle of Baltimore. I’ve found myself looking more carefully around me whenever I walk through campus lately, now that I’m getting closer to commencement.

Businesses in Charles Village: While this has nothing to do with Hopkins itself, there are several small business establishments close to campus where I’ve found myself buying food to eat or purchasing groceries over the past few years. While there are a few chain stores in the neighborhood, most of them are locally owned and have a very “Baltimore” feel to them.

The Plethora of Opportunities: On the academic front, there are numerous lectures and colloquia occurring on campus on a weekly basis, there are many opportunities for undergraduate research, and so on. On the extracurricular front, there are literally hundreds of student organizations on campus–and there are always new clubs being formed each semester. On the community service front, there are many ways to volunteer either through the Center for Social Concern here at Hopkins or directly with one of the numerous non-profit organizations in Baltimore that always need volunteers. This is a rather generic summary of how immense the wealth of opportunities seems when you’re a student here at Hopkins and seeing every day how there are so many possibilities for you to spend your time at present as well as prepare for your future.

Quirks and Traditions of Hopkins: Our homecoming takes place during the spring, and lacrosse is the “football” of Hopkins. We have a student-run spring fair at the end of every spring semester. We have a different set of colors for formal purposes and athletic purposes. Our school’s name has caused so many misspellings and mispronunciations that it’s a legend in itself. (It even prompted an April Fool’s Day joke recently.) This, of course, is just a sampling of many little things at Hopkins that help characterize everyday student life at Hopkins.

Ease of Interactions with Peers: This characteristic has more to do with college undergraduate life itself than Hopkins specifically. In college, it’s easy to meet up with other students around campus, or by stopping by their apartments or dorm rooms. You don’t have this ease with interacting with your peers so easily before college in high school (unless you attend a boarding school) or after college in the real world–that is, you can’t walk within a merely approximately two-mile radius if you need to collaborate on a project with a classmate or even just hang out with a friend.

The Food: No, the on-campus food isn’t gourmet, but I’ll still miss it.

The Breezeway: On most days during the school year, the Breezeway is busy with student groups hosting fundraisers, banners advertising events flapping in the wind, and throngs of people walking up and down the marble staircase by the Breezeway. It’s a beautiful sight, I think–granted, I sometimes find myself wishing on rainy or snowy days that the marble staircase were either brick or asphalt instead, but it still is lovely!

MSE Library: As nerdy as it sounds, I’ve spent so much time either studying at the library or browsing its stacks to look for books for reference that I know my inner geek will miss it.

The Mattin Center: The Mattin Center isn’t a first-class building for the arts, but it does have basic facilities to keep the performing and visual arts alive at Hopkins. I’ve spent much time there throughout the years either in the piano practice rooms or the dance studio–as well as its numerous meeting rooms–and I’m sure I’ll have many fond flashbacks of the time I’ve spent at the Mattin Center during the years to come.

Large-Scale Events: Spring Fair. Culture Show. Orientation. Homecoming Weekend. A cappella concerts. Dance showcases. Some large-scale events at Hopkins are analogous to those at other colleges and universities, and some are unique to Hopkins. There are many large-scale events that happen here on a regular basis, and since I’ve either attended or helped plan many of them, I’ll miss those events.

People: It goes without saying that I’ll miss the friends I’ve made here, and my colleagues and supervisors frommy work-study jobs, my research lab, and my extracurricular activities. I’ll also miss people with whom I haven’t had extensive interactions, such as professors whose classes I’ve enjoyed, staff members around campus (such as friendly security guards and cafeteria workers–somehow, I think I also might the occasional run-in with a surly staff member, simply because it’s something that many [if not all] people at Hopkins experience at one point), and other students who may not bemy friends, but still are my acquaintances.

This list is by no means all-inclusive, but I hope it summarizes some of the things about Hopkins that I’ll miss after I graduate. More and more, I find myself telling myself sayings that have to do with enjoying the present, because that’s quite true in my desire to make the most out of what’s left in my experience here at Hopkins.