They say hind-sight is 20/20. I do not think that this has ever been more the case as when I look back on the past three and a half years here at Quinnipiac University. Things have changed here at Quinnipiac, but perhaps we have changed the most.
Our class has witnessed the many expansions and renovations of the campus. Yet despite these steps toward modernization, they never quite meet our needs or expectations.
The library now seems like a mansion fit for the collegiate king or queen, far overshadowing the converted garage we were just becoming accustomed to. Yet its resources fail to satisfy our scholarly thirsts.
The freshman class has grown in number, making our class seem modest in comparison. However, we always seem to doubt the quality of the incoming students, as if somehow the weeding-out of the lesser members of our class never happened.
When once we dreamed of escaping the imprisonment of our cemented dorms walls, we condemned the University for forcing our independence. Then when the lots were full of commuter vehicles, we again reprobated the University and demanded more shuttles, if not spots, to ensure the continuity of our conveniences. Maybe we should look to define what it means to be independent.
We have seen the cafeteria prices go up while our meal points have stayed the same. Maybe our culinary tastes have changed, but the food always seems to get worse. However, this economic and aesthetic tilt is felt everywhere, and it is on our own campus that it is has the greatest impression. Somehow we forget the small space between the difference in quality of the cafeteria food and that which is prepared in our kitchens.
We remember how May Weekend used to be, with the kegs, DJs and sweaty, drunken bodies packing the Hill-Village circle. Yet when these assumed privileges were revoked due to the actions of a few, the adult in us begged and pleaded persuasively for the reinstatement of the joys of our indulgent parties.
We were shocked when our protective college upgraded to a University. The violation of our little secret spot came as a surprise, as we stopped to wonder if bigger was better.
Perhaps we should ask the same questions of ourselves. College changes a person, and they say once you go away, you can never really go back home. As we look forward to our last three months at Quinnipiac, maybe we should look back upon the people, places and events that enabled us to be where we are now and take a minute to remember how home truly was.
Now as seniors, we look back and think about how much Quinnipiac has changed in the past three and a half years since we were awkward freshman pulling up on dorm road with a mini van full of high school memories and enough ambition to conquer the entire campus.
Maybe the Quad isn’t a big enough playground anymore or maybe it is we who are too big for Quinnipiac.
Now, as we prepare to drive away from campus on May 19, accomplished seniors with a car full of college memories and enough ambition to conquer the world, take a minute to reflect. As we look forward to the future, let us be reminded of the past with a perspective that is illuminating.
Let us realize that there are some things in life that, although they may appear to have changed, are only relative to the difference in the eyes through which we view them.