Circular Conversation

One thing about Oberlin that I find great, is the plethora of activities happening on any given day. When I was looking at colleges, one of my biggest concerns was having enough to do in Ohio. From what I knew, Ohio was all cornfields and cows. Although I still find that to be true, the amount of Facebook invitations I receive on a daily basis is unreal. There are workshops, socials, sporting events, performances at the 'Sco, you name it. There are so many things going on at all times, that really, it's impossible to be bored.

What amazes me, is that with all the things to do, a common pastime at Oberlin is sitting in circles. Yes, sitting in circles. People sit in circles on North Quad, people sit in circles on Wilder Bowl. People sit in circles on weekdays, people sit in circles during the weekend. Why? Well, I have a theory.

Here at Oberlin, we are as involved as college students get. Everyone has a cause, everyone has a passion, and everyone has at least two majors. Personally knowing how it feels to be busy beyond all belief, I know sometimes taking a study break consists of doing absolutely nothing. Absolutely nothing. Except apparently sitting in a circle.

I believe that as Oberlin students, although we are busy out of our minds, we know it's okay to take the time to do things that matter. One of those things, is to have intellectual conversations, just for the sake of talking. With cell phones, Facebook, email, and all the other things we do to preoccupy our time, many people forget how fulfilling good conversation can be. It doesn't have to be about quantum physics, but anything that makes us think about the world we live in and analyze the world of tomorrow will suffice.

So as we graduate and become the future that is so often spoken of, I hope we remember to take the time to remember the important things. As silly as it seems, sitting in circles gives me hope that as Oberlin students, we all possess the ability to make a difference and will be successful in bettering whatever cause we choose.

"OMG, it's Tappan Square!"

In the last few months, I've noticed that a common trait us Obies all possess is that art of explanation. I mean, before I was even accepted I found myself giving a condensed history of Oberlin College every time somebody asked me where I was applying. I believe that's when I realized I really loved Oberlin. Honestly, you've got to love a place if you don't mind convincing everyone you know it's a real school.

As much as I love it here, I wonder how the rest of the country perceives Oberlin. Are we really even on the map? I don't know about the rest of the United States, but when I'm home in Miami, Florida, I mention Oberlin and people look at me like I'm talking about Hogwarts School of Witch and Wizardry. For awhile, my friends even joked that Oberlin was my excuse to really take a year off from high school before furthering my education.

This past summer I had an internship in San Francisco, and since a ton of Obies hail from the Bay Area, I figured I would finally be in a place where people would recognize the name and even know a little bit about the school. Truth is, although I didn't get as many blank stares, Oberlin was still "some ambiguous hippie school where nobody wore shoes." So disappointing.

Upon arriving back to campus in mid-August, I guess I had come to terms with Oberlin being this unknown, imaginary place to the rest of real world. I figured as long as I knew it's brilliance, what the general population thought was negligible.

The weekend before classes started, the volleyball team packed up and headed for Wisconsin for a two-day tournament. The morning before our first game, we were sitting and eating breakfast in the lobby, when we heard mention of Oberlin College on the television. Someone turned up the volume, and we all crowded around the set thrilled to see that on CNN there was a story being aired about our school. The story talked about how the college has a program to provide funds for students who live in Oberlin to attend the college. Honestly, it was just so cool.

That moment kind of opened my eyes. Since then, I worry less about how well known the name is, and think more about the great things that this establishment is doing for its students. We're all just so lucky. I'm just saying, if CNN recognizes the name on my diploma, I think I'll get by just fine in the real world.