To the Editor:
I ride a familiar route, on a Greyhound out of Boston. Coming through the Berkshires on my way to Albany and then to Troy, it’s raining, as the elevation, night, and lights on the road make for an ear-popping and eerie combination woven with nostalgia. And to think, only just a short while ago I thought I’d never miss that which I now can’t wait to see. But I return, for nearly the whole of my Spring Break at Northeastern University, and not just to write in The Poly again.
Nearly three months ago, I left RPI, not knowing whether I would return for another semester of study in the spring. I wrote in The Poly then, saying a tenuous goodbye and giving what amounted to temporary thanks, not knowing if Northeastern would extend to me the financial aid and housing to facilitate my transfer there. Since that time, that new reality has formed for me, one that now exists in the cultural college hub of American cities.
Although, I’m afraid I can’t be fooled. As I write this now, I sit in my old room looking out into the Quad from my old roommate’s desk, using his Bluetooth keyboard. I am unexpectedly desensitized upon coming out here, mainly because it feels as though I never left. I walk the stairs of the Rensselaer Union, I sit in the buses, I dine at Pizza Bella, I enjoy the company of old friends I never forgot, and everything else I have experienced since leavng, everything, slips away. I have come to a second home I never had seen before, and I have missed you all so.
But have I missed this school, with its brick buildings, attractive landscaping, and suburban surroundings? Have I really missed the stream of late nights, the absurdly detailed academic requirements, and the isolation from that “real world” we all strive to dent? These professors and their teachings: do I believe them to be more valuable to me now than they were before, when I was a naive freshman, so eager to judge? The important thing here is that none of those things really matter; they are all but tools. College is not meant as a time to prove to the world that will recruit you that you excelled at choosing the most advantageous academic paths. College is the privilege to practice the real world, and the most important thing in that process is the other people you practice with.
Because of this, all of you, my friends, the past community that I could not let go of: You are so lucky. Yes, I will say it for all to hear, with no shame—I love RPI, and you should too. You should because it’s the last time that a lot of you will ever have the opportunity to be set on an intellectual island as powerful as this. It’s the last time you will be able to candidly talk politics with your resident assistant after getting a better explanation of how to use MATLAB from him. It’s the last time you’ll be able to see the people you live with construct a Segway from scratch. It’s the last time you’ll be so close with that demographic of your generation that actually cares about being intelligent, so much so, that it will work until the sun rises day after day after day to prove it. Bask in the glory and don’t make the same mistake I did, the mistake of thinking you were alone here. You’re only as alone as keep yourself, you’re as smart as they are, and you’ve earned the privilege of learning about yourself and the world you’ll soon be a part of, with them.
Sean Collins
Former Poly Business Manager
Editor’s Note: “Pizza Bella” refers to what is now Big Apple Pizza.
