<p>To continue the thread, here's an opinion piece written by the first-year columnist that appeared in today's Columbia Sepctator Online Edition. I thought students not yet at Columbia, or considering it, might find it interesting.
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Further Down College Walk
The Fern Fifteen</p>
<p>By Fernanda Diaz
November 29, 2005
Around this time a year ago, I stopped sleeping. However dorky/extreme/psychotic it might seem in retrospect, the knowledge that in just three weeks I would know if I had gotten into Columbia seemed too daunting to forget and be able to have re****l nights. Thankfully, a couple of weeks and a large envelope later, I returned to my typical night activities (snoring and dreaming), and went to bed beamingly content for the rest of senior year with the oversimplified ideal of a John Jay single and the Core.</p>
<p>That oversimplified ideal was exactly thatno glossy brochure or Fiske guide could have provided much real premature insight into the process by which we first-years have slowly become Columbians. But were not yet insiders. Weve taken only about a third of the core. We dont know how it feels to shape our schedule for our declared majors. At this point, we havent even seen the trees on college walk sprinkled with white lights and snow, or taken John Jay dining hall trays sledding down the stairs. We do not yet have a past at Columbia.</p>
<p>We have, however, a busy present filled with the sentiments of our first-year perspective fresh in our minds. We have, to shamelessly quote the contest guidelines for this column spot, a perspective that those of us who have come to take for granted/bitterly accept the joys/horrible pains that come with attending Columbia lose over time. Its not the overpriced apparel or the New York City zip code that makes us Columbia students. Its things like, for me, hurried walks to class tripping over bricks and reading the free New York Times, the guilty pleasure that comes from getting the sketchy Ferris Booth pasta repeatedly, or the familiarity of the faces I stay up all night with in the 209 Philosophy reading room in Butler. Every one of us first-years has created their own Columbia through acquired favoritesour preferred study spots, the best floor to drink, our favorite view of campus.</p>
<p>It seems like theres no non-cheesy way to write an end of semester piece, but weve maneuvered our way through everything from four out of the 14 names on the Butler façade, to the Baker Field tailgating policy, to the perfect 1 subway line (Theres more than just the 1! say my NYU friends). Weve met fantastic people and had those clichéd yet truly enjoyable late-night philosophical/procrastination/musical sessions. Weve seriously come to refer to our dorms as home, and that merits at least a little cheesiness.</p>
<p>Looking back, I thought that first semester would seem like an extended welcome, a few months in which we would be treated like newcomersguided step-by-step through everything and not expected to become too involved or committed right away. Moments after orientation had ended though, this belief faded as it became clear how we werent about to be taken care of, nor were we going to be left alone. From athletics to music to student publications to theater (not to mention our intimidatingly small Lit Hum classrooms), the chances we had and the way we took them reflect the way we have both been expected and welcomed to belong. In that respect, however different our first-year outlook might be, we were not separated from the restwe became starters, editors, board members, contributors, soloists, emcees, and orchestra members. All as first-years. First semester first-years, no less.</p>
<p>The process by which weve become integrated into the Columbia student persona could not be complete without my initial topic, the final and most important indicator of assimilationsleep. Its a year after my sleep depravation began because of this school, and I must admit that sleep, as everyone knows, is again not so prevalent in the Lion lifestyle. Not at nighttime, at least, when normal people partake in it. From the hours spent practicing piano at 3 a.m. in the John Jay lounge, to those spent exploring the multiple libraries and ending up in Butler to write a comparison between Aeschylus and Plato, to many spent in dimly-lit doubles watching French musicals, Columbians dont sleep very much. They dont sleep much at night because there is a surplus of information and discussion and life. Naps in the day are heaven, and this all might sound too romantic, because among the workload and stress, things like dark circles and neglecting lovely long-distance boyfriends do exist, but its what truly makes us students here.</p>
<p>So, in honor of oversimplifications, Ive taken quite a liking to Columbia, I sort of miss sleep, and I really miss my boyfriend. This semesters almost over, and were going home for a month. Right now, only two of the trees on college walk are lit, and I cant wait until theyre done, because theyll probably be beautiful.
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