The Deep Breath Before the Plunge

I'm 5/8th through with Williams. How strange.

Thus far, I've taken 21 classes in 16 departments, sat on seven college committees, participated in far too many clubs, and generally filled each day with meetings, meals, and stuff. Yet, at the end of it all, I'm frankly unsure what I've learned in these 2.something years. Unlike primary and secondary school, I can't point to a specific list of skills or definitions that comprised my education.

Instead, I've learned via experience. Whether in reading a gigantic stack of books, staying up late working an essay, or starwatching in the Science Quad with a dear friend, I've taken in new knowledge and ways of understanding the world. Williams and the people within the Purple Bubble have taught me about the joy of service, the pain of loss, and the depth of experience that each person brings to the table. Just as no one else here spent a month volunteering in a French religious community this summer, I certainly have very little idea of the practice, sweat, and toil that all of my peer athletes have poured into their sports.

Yes, we do support each other - I've gone to plenty of games, plays, and performances - but watching a monologue shows me nothing of the hours that went into memorization of the lines, unless I have some prior familiarity. I know nothing of the countless passing drills that our soccer teams have doubtless run, or the endless repetitions taken by NBC and Dance Co. to learn new moves. I'm frankly unaware of how exhausting it is to wake up at 4 AM to tend to a lab experiment, and how frustrating a senior in Spencer Art Studio might be with a piece that won't come together.

Yet, in knowing people that have lived all of these things, I hope that some sort of social osmosis has allowed me some glimpse into the life of a dancer, artist, or athlete. While I may not understand what goes into their work, these people are no longer "other" to me. I've met people from every state and many countries and conversed on every subject with people of widely different interests. I've grown a base of solid friends who know little about the policies I love to consider, and a base of solid peers who spend as much time or more thinking about these same issues.

While Williams hasn't built a academic tower for me in any one subject (though I'm starting one with my upper-level major courses this spring), it has given me a huge base of understanding and knowledge for future projects, as well as the capability to know that this entire analysis might consist only of my delusions.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootbearwdc/ / CC BY 2.0