Walking into my Wolman Hall suite last year, I felt secure in what the coming year would bring. I spent the summer talking to peers on Instagram and Discord, chose my roommate, built a four-year plan and knew what clubs I would join. I was even getting dinner with my soon-to-be best friends that night!
Every year, new Blue Jays flock to the nest of Hopkins, eager to make it home for the next four years. However, it’s important for students to realize that this new home extends beyond campus and into Baltimore City. Like any city, though rich in diversity and culture, Baltimore is riddled with issues that disproportionately impact various communities. As you enter an institution that has played an influential role in shaping the city’s history, educating yourself and becoming aware of the issues plaguing the city are the first steps to popping the infamous Hopkins bubble and making the most of your experience here.
The moment I saw my picture and biography on the Hopkins Class of 2025 Instagram account, I instantly began picking the skin of my cuticles (kinda gross, but whatever). I must have sent that paragraph talking about my potential majors and favorite boba flavor to seven people, asking if I came off as personable and charming. Seeing this post made me realize that this is it: This is what will define my fate for the next four years.
When you enroll as a Hopkins student, you don’t just happen to live in the city of Baltimore. You are now a resident of Baltimore. Your main focus is to earn that degree, of course, but hopefully you have aspirations to engage with others both on and off campus. In the same way you devote attention to the happenings in your home’s community, you have a responsibility to be respectful and attentive to the city that you will call home for the next four years. This is not only a responsibility; it is also a privilege.
Baltimore is a vibrant city full of small, local businesses. When you’re taking a break from classes this semester, consider supporting the many restaurants and shops found throughout the city. Not only will your visit provide you with fun weekend (or weeknight) plans, it’s also an opportunity to explore Baltimore beyond the typical “Hopkins bubble.” Many of these organizations also support non-profit organizations, making your visit a mutually beneficial decision. Below is a list of just some of the countless small businesses found in Baltimore.
We had spoken online throughout the fall of my freshman year, and I eagerly anticipated our first in-person meeting. Our idea of a first date was nothing special. Essentially, in an attempt to be somewhat COVID-conscious, he and I planned to meet up on-campus and drink wine in one of the white tents meant for students to socialize in accordance with public health guidelines. (Sharing a bottle of white wine with a stranger is probably not in line with those guidelines... Sorry Hopkins!)
My first kiss happened in a stuffy, poky bedroom. The room was dark, not unlike a cave. I was on a spring break trip with my new boyfriend at the time, and we shared the same bed in our rental home. The bed, quite dusty, occupied almost the entire length of the bedroom. Beside it was a single-hung window with horrible soundproofing. Throughout the night, I could hear cars zooming past or honking their horns. Not the most romantic setting.
As a rising junior, I wish I could say that I’ve overcome imposter syndrome and have somehow reached full confidence in my abilities, but of course, I still compare myself to others all the time.
It was late freshman year when I realized I wouldn’t be able to pass, nor did I want to. On the verge of a crisis, I remember sending a series of panicked texts to my guy friend, asking how I could dress and act more masculine. He responded in confusion and afterward listed the kinds of clothes he wore. However I only felt increasingly alienated, as I’d tried his fashion style before — I had already tried the men’s button-down shirts but could never really “pass.”
How do you feel about graduating? I have been asked this question almost every day for the past couple weeks leading up to graduation on May 22. To be entirely honest, I am not quite sure how I feel. As someone who is graduating early after three years, with COVID-19 sending me home for almost a year and a half in the middle, I have certainly not had the “traditional” college experience.
For many of us, Baltimore might not have been the first city that came to mind when we envisioned our college life. But after spending four years here, I've grown to appreciate the city and its hidden gems. So, without further ado, here is a list of places in Baltimore that have become favorites for my friends and I:
My impression of “college” was a place that determined who you would be, perhaps permanently. This idea haunted me, because I had repeatedly been told that I needed to obtain a certain level of college education in order to start my life right. If not, well, maybe that was it for me.
I think it’s fair to say that everyone lost their minds during quarantine in different ways and dealt with it in different ways. Me? You guessed it — I developed an addiction to lazy bike rides in the Texas sun through my suburban neighborhood.
College was neither a guarantee nor an expectation. It was my only resort. College was a word passed around my community like a looming icon of the mythical “American Dream” — a dream of social mobility, wealth and generational prosperity. My parents fled from their homes, as their families were torn apart along ideological lines, to a foreign land with the hope for a better future: a future of prosperity for their children.
While this list compiles a few events and activities that (as the title suggests) must be experienced during your time at Hopkins, it is most enjoyable when they are done completely by accident. We encourage you to spontaneously do random things as well and create your own list. If you find yourself wandering through campus and hear commotion and noise from Arellano Theater, approach it. And always say yes to free food — you’ll find yourself staying for the event.
Like many freshmen, when I first got to Hopkins I had no idea what I was going to do with my time here. Pacing through the aisles at my first Student Involvement Fair (SIF) and putting my name down for any club that sounded vaguely interesting, I cast a net as wide as I could. Most of those frantic, overeager freshman sign-ups amounted to little more than receiving monthly emails from clubs I never ended up attending. The News-Letter, however, sent the one club email I actually paid attention to.
Hi Class of 2022, It’s the most wonderful time of the year: graduation season! With perfectly manicured pictures of your cap and gown, a flurry of “Congrats Grad!” balloons and bottles of champagne, graduation season is (and should be) a time of merriment and joy, celebrating all the hard work you’ve put in for the past four years.
I’ll be honest: I don’t know how to do the graduation thing. It’s not the wear-a-cap-and-gown, walk-across-the-stage part that perplexes me. It’s more the aftermath: the friends-leaving-forever part.
Dear freshman self, You made it. As cliche as that may sound, I know that wasn’t something you could have easily imagined, especially after your first semester. You are graduating today and are about to begin a new, exciting chapter of your life. These past four years have flown by faster than you could have imagined, and it has definitely been a learning experience. I’m going to do my best to share what I wish I had known when I was in your place.
