It seems that to me that the topic of college perpetually comes up in conversation long before it is ever time for students to start filling out applications. During the days of middle and high school, teachers, counselors and the occasional principal extol the virtues of hard work and try to pretend like the bitter taste of endless standardized tests and albatrosses of term papers do not exist, giving vague promises of "getting into a good college" instead. In other words, the idea of college has begun to sound less like an academic award for scholarly quasi-sainthood and more like an indispensable holistic experience focused on the experiences that take place outside of the classroom. Today, college is seen as a time to explore, meet new people, try new things and redefine oneself.
My arrival on Grounds quickly proved to me that at U.Va., all of the above applies. My greatest shock, though, was the last on the list: a sudden and unexpected identity redefinition.
At 4:14 p.m. Aug. 25, somewhere on the harried expanse between Carruthers Hall and Central Grounds that is Emmet Street, I ceased to be an ordinary first-year student biking back to my dorm room and became, instead, The Girl Who Got Hit by the Truck. To shorten what otherwise could grow into a tiresome, long-winded account, a truck pulling out of a parking lot plowed into the back of my bike, flinging me from the sidewalk to the middle of the road. After a whirlwind ambulance ride, my RA and I spent a slow nine hours or so in the ER waiting for my painkillers and x-ray results. My suitemates and I underwent some unexpected bonding that night as they worked to clean the dark, oily smears of tar and dirt from my legs and raw road rash. The diagnosis revealed that I had a hematoma on my right thigh and two pelvic fractures. The next day, armed with my shiny, new aluminum crutch, I looked at the stairs and hills throughout Grounds with a newfound sense of dread.
As I soon learned after the accident, news travels fast here. I had been catapulted from the depths of obscurity to become a (sort of) celebrity around Grounds. "Oh, I heard about you!"
Read More
At Emmy Squared, Detroit-style pizza is upstaged by star handhelds and sides
By Xander Tilock | 2 days agoEmmy Squared is a Brooklyn-based restaurant that serves Detroit-style pizza and recently expanded into Charlottesville.
Sustainability in the lecture hall and beyond
By Ingrid Gay | 4 days agoStudents in all three of these programs stress that now, more than ever, it is important to be learning about our environment.
Top 10 pieces of advice from fourth-year students
By Sam Saks | 5 days agoThe following pieces of advice will help you achieve academic success and personal growth during the remainder of your college experience
