I came to Hopkins under the assumption that I wouldn't have fun here. To some degree, I think we all did, but I know that I secretly hoped it wouldn't be the case.
In the fall, I genuinely believe that I was proven wrong. I had so much fun. My entire floor used to go out some nights and have a blast together. Even after we couldn't go to parties anymore and just stayed in the dorm, we still all hung out together and had a great time. I know that covered grades played a part in it, but I was as close to stress-free as I thought possible last semester — we all were. I was excited to go to class and excited to spend time outside of class. I didn't have to try to de-stress; those opportunities literally just came knocking on my door.
Now life is different. Many freshmen like me who didn't join Greek life don't have anything to do to relieve stress. I wasn't especially keen on going to frat parties early last semester, but I would migrate to them with my friends. Now there are not only no more parties to go to, but many of my friends have joined Greek organizations and never seem to have any time to associate with their old friends. As an unaffiliated freshman with no car who has no interest in getting a fake ID, there are very few ways for me to relieve my stress on this campus. I often find myself hanging out with a tight group of friends in the dorms. Don't get me wrong — we have a great time together, but we are missing a real sense of catharsis.
I know I can't be the only freshman who feels this way. I know I can't be the only freshman who is scared to miss out on the "college experience." Campus life seems to be reflecting the stereotypes I was so concerned about before I came in. I've heard Spring Fair is fun, and I look forward to seeing Nelly, but other than that I feel like I've just been awash in stress and truly fear for the next couple of years. I know my classes are only going to get harder, and I know that I need to do well. It just sometimes feels like my classes and extracurricular organizations are all I do with my time. I can easily see why so many of my colleagues complain about stress as much as they do. In fact, I can already catch myself complaining about it.
I know there isn't much the administration can do in this situation. They are under a lot of pressure from a lot of different groups to draw a hard line on binge drinking on campus, and I am not saying that are completely wrong to ban open parties or write up people I know for drinking on the Beach. I know it is easy to criticize without offering any solutions, but I don't know what would help from the top down. What I can say is that it definitely now falls upon me to create stress-relieving opportunities for myself. Gone are the days of hanging out as a floor or letting loose together outside the dorms. I don't get many knocks on my door anymore.
As a result, I believe the solution for freshmen like me is to go out and explore Baltimore. That’s not the easiest thing to do without a car, but I know this city has a lot to offer, regardless. Perhaps having few things to do on campus will encourage me to break out of the campus bubble and make even more unique memories. I am definitely on the market for a club or organization that does its work off campus. I have cultivated great friendships with the other students in the clubs I am in, but sometimes I feel as if they will never really lead to any social opportunities aside from our weekly meetings. Maybe I'm in the wrong clubs, but that is how I feel.
Thus, I encourage all frustrated, stressed freshman to realize that our recreational destiny is exclusively in our hands. I believe that we will all benefit from having to take this proactive approach. Baltimore is a cool city, and it is about time we start to discover it for ourselves. This is the reality we face, and ultimately it isn't as bad as it initially seemed. So let’s get out there and find something worthwhile that takes our mind off of the endless problem sets and midterms. The courses won't get any easier, and the stress won't just disappear on its own. I hope to meet many like-minded individuals in the urban landscape we all call home, because that’s where I’m headed.
