I went to Syracuse University nestled in the
scenic yet bitterly cold area of central New York. The city itself is actually
considered to be the center of New York State. This being the case, Syracuse
was an interesting focal point in the lives of many in the area.
Obligatory website: Syracuse
University.
And so it goes, Syracuse was a liberation from the ignorance
of high school. Where as high school offered me little in terms of intellectual,
physical, or emotional enlightenment; undergrad presented me options that
I did not have growing up through the high school years.
What changed? In my opinion, upon having the chance to
look back at my first year of college, I believe it was both the psychological
and physical escape from an area of ignorance and intolerance. For the
first time in my life, I was free. Free from the stupidity that high school
promoted. Free from the stereotyping, from the indifference, from the superficiality
of it all. College afforded me the opportunity to escape into a world where
differences were actually looked favorably upon. I didn't have to fit in
(though I wanted to, and did) in any respect. I didn't have to conform
to values predetermined. I could hang with anyone I felt like hanging with.
All the notions about being on your own were somewhat true. Of course most
of us had the realization that we weren't truly independent, but what undergrad
allowed us to accept was that soon we would be altogether independent.
Many of the lessons that I reflect back on today were based on those grand
four years.
So what did I do during those four years...?
I spent most of my time the first year emphasizing the
social aspect of my life. I partied like there was no tomorrow. Surprisingly
enough, my grades didn't suffer as much as my detractors would have liked
them to. With that, I would say that I utilized my first year to catch
up on all the things that I think I would have liked to have done during
my high school existence. What those were I won't elaborate on, though
I'll describe a few of my activities, the others are a bit personal, and
if my mom ever found out about them, I wouldn't hear the end of it.
The first of the activities that I engaged in was joining
the Syracuse University Marching Band (SUMB). Normally, I would not mention
such a group as this for fear of being branded a "band geek". I have no
such qualms anymore. I had a fantastic time in marching band. I would go
so far as to say that if it weren't for my experiences within this organization,
I don't believe that my college experience would have been as fulfilling.
The places that I've been to and the people that I've met more than made
my "stay" a pleasant ne.
Obligatory website: The
Syracuse University Marching Band.
The people who designed the page weren't thinking about
a look so much as they were trying to make it fairly informative. That
part was successful, however the overal "loud" and "obnoxious" tone of
the page is distracting. It's an adequate attempt, to say the least.
I also ended up doing an organization known as "The Sour
Sitrus Society", a student run basketball pep band. Yet another great way
to get pretty decent seats for baskteball games. The only unfortunate drawback
was that you had to wear these rather annoying rugby. These were stylistically,
also, "loud" and "obnoxious" (a recurring theme). Such was the price to
get in free to a basketball game and to travel with the team during post-season
excursions.
Obligatory website: The
Sour Sitrus Society.
Then there was my affiliation with a fraternity. Kappa
Kappa Psi, The National Honorary Band Fraternity, founded locally in
1982 (nationally in 1919) was established to provide a system of service
for bands. Service has always been in my nature (and continues to this
day). Coupling this with my love for music, Kappa Kappa Psi seemed like
a logical decision on my part to attain membership. That was my PC answer
as to why I decided to attempt membership. The truth of the matter was
that I didn't learn not to be a conformist until after I got in, thus I
joined because most of my friends were doing it. The fact that most of
the people that I knew and liked were in it as well, made the decision
that much easier.
I learned alot from the four years that I was a member
of all three of these organizations. I learned a lot about myself as a
person and a lot of my abilities and of my limitations. I thank these organizations
for providing me an outlet to explore the person that I am today. I don't
think I would have discovered as much without this participation as I did
with.
Now before you go ahead and think of me as a socially
motivated college student (for which you would be right), I will say that
I did my share of work. In fact I did graduate with Bachelor of Fine Arts
Degree from the Art Media Studies Department of the School of Visual and
Performing Arts.
Obligatory website: Computer
Graphics Department.
Which brings us to the what I'm involved with nowadays.
What Did I Get Myself Into...