I consider my freshman exploits to have been fairly successful, landing me with a few close friends, some others I can stop on the sidewalk to chat and a bunch of people I can greet by name. To get to this point, I experienced my quota of the relentless mandatory conversations covering name, major and hometown during the first few months of last year. You know, the ones when again and again you have to sound just as interested that this person is also a Chicago suburbanite and is undecided about his major. This is college, maybe the last time in your life when you ll be surrounded by thousands of peers. The chances to meet them are slowly sliding by, and soon you ll have your diploma in hand.
Most students settle into a specific group somewhere within the first year.
We still meet people, but the quest is not as deliberate as when we had first arrived. Maybe it should be. Every elevator ride is an opportunity. For a few moments, you are enclosed in an intimately small space. They can t escape you.